UNI\ 


THE    LIFE, 


SPEECHES,  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 

OF 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD, 

TWENTIETH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

INCLUDING  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS 

ASSASSINATION,  LINGERING   PAIN,  DEATH, 
AND    BURIAL. 


BY 

RUSSELL  H.  CONWELL, 

AUTHOR  OF  "LIFE  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES,"  "LIFE  OF  BAYARD  TAYLOR," 
"GREAT  FIRE  IN  BOSTON,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 


HIS  EXCELLENCY  JOHN  D.  LONG, 

GOVERNOR  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


BOSTON 
PUBLISHED  BY  B.  B.  RUSSELL,  57  CORNHILL 

PHILADELPHIA:  QUAKER  CITY  PUBLISHING  HOUSE 
DETROIT:  TYLER  &  CO.,  AND  R   D.  S  TYLER  &  CO 

1881. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


Copyright,  1881, 
BY  GEORGE  STINSON  &  CO. 


TO  MRS.  ELIZA  GARFIELD,  AND  TO  HER  SISTER,  MRS.  ALPHA 
BOYNTON,    PIONEERS    AND    CO-WORKERS    IN    THE    DE 
VELOPMENT  OF  A   GREAT   STATE,   THIS    BOOK   IS 
GRATEFULLY     DEDICATED.        FROM    SUCH 
SPRANG    THE    NOBLEST    AND    MOST 
POWERFUL  RACES  OF  MANKIND. 


PREFACE. 


HISTORY  is  but  the  aggregate  of  individual  biog 
raphies,  and  it  sometimes  happens  in  the  history  of 
great  nations  that  the  biography  of  a  single  man, 
comprehensively  written,  contains  all  the  important 
history  of  the  government  through  a  series  of  years. 
The  study  of  biography  in  the  records  of  nearly 
every  nation  furnishes  the  surest  and  easiest  means 
of  obtaining  certain  and  lasting  information  concern 
ing  the  institutions,  character,  events,  and  time.  It 
is,  however,  in  the  moral  effect  upon  the  readers 
that  the  writing  and  study  of  biography  places  its 
highest  claims.  It  encourages  the  young,  gives  hope 
to  the  hopeless,  warns  the  careless,  cautions  the  fool 
ish,  and  by  its  descent  into  the  little  details  of  prac 
tical  life  furnishes  a  guide,  companion,  and  counsel 
or  to  every  student. 

The  life  of  the  martyred  President,  James  Abram 
Garfield,  furnishes  a  record  of  peculiar  advantage  to 
the  young  men  of  our  land  in  their  choice  of  habits, 
professions,  companions,  and  political  principles.  It 
is  surely  a  remarkably  transparent  and  pure  life. 
Yet  we  have  too  much  confidence  in  our  nation  to 
think  that  even  his  life  is  a  very  great  exception. 


10  PREFACE. 

His  biography  is  of  equal  importance  to  the  women 
of  the  land,  abounding  as  it  does  in  incidents  of 
motherly  devotion,  heroism,  and  love,  and  in  accounts 
of  the  sublime  courage,  affection,  and  self-sacrifices 
of  true  wifehood. 

It  is  the  earnest  hope  of  the  writer  that  the  biog 
raphy  of  General  Garfield  in  some  form  may  find 
its  way  into  every  library,  and  that  the  interest  in 
it  may  long  outlive  any  present  excitement  concern 
ing  it ;  for  the  lessons  it  teaches,  the  courage  it  im 
parts,  the  love  of  honor  and  truth  it  awakens,  and 
the  sweet  pictures  of  domestic  affection,  filial  devo 
tion,  patriotic  heroism,  and  religious  faith  which  it 
reveals  in  our  American  life,  cannot  be  valued  too 
highly  in  the  education  of  future  generations.  Of 
such  a  life  it  is  a  duty  and  a  pleasure  to  write,  and 
of  such  he  believes  it  will  be  a  duty  and  a  pleasure 
to  read. 


INTRODUCTION. 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  i 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  BOSTON,  September  27,  1881.) 

MY  DEAR  COLONEL,  —  In  answer  to  your  letter,  I 
regret  very  much  that  I  have  not  time  to  write  an 
extended  introduction  to  your  biography  of  General 
Garfield,  which,  now  that  his  noble  life  is  ended,  I 
am  glad  to  know  is  to  be  revised  and  again  published. 
I  cordially  furnish  you,  however,  my  remarks  at  the 
dinner,  last  July,  of  the  alumni  of  Williams  College. 
But  no  tribute  can  do  justice  either  to  him  or  to  the 
deep  and  loving  sentiment  of  admiration  and  sym 
pathy  in  which  he  is  held  in  the  hearts  of  the  peo 
ple.  The  best  tribute  is  in  the  simple  story  of  his 
heroic  and  ascending  life  and  character.  The  youth 
of  America  will  read  it,  and  be  reminded  that  they, 
too,  can  make  their  "  lives  sublime." 
Very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  D.  LONG. 
COLONEL  R.  H.  CONWELL. 


The  days  that  cluster  around  our  glorious  Fourth, 
turning  its  glory  into  sadness,  are  days  not  of  alarm, 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

but  sorrow.  The  heart  of  the  nation  is  broken  and 
melts  in  tears,  but  its  faith  and  courage  are  un 
shaken.  For  the  second  time  in  the  history  of  our 
republic  a  President  has  been  shot  by  an  assassin. 
But  this  time,  thank  God,  no  organized  political^  or 
social  purpose  or  significance  crouches  close  behind 
the  deed.  The  great  victim  lies  not  a  sacrifice  to 
partisan,  or  sectional  malignity.  The  party  of  half 
the  people  whose  gallant  candidate  he  defeated  ;  the 
belt  of  humbled  States  which  stood  solid  against  his 
election,  as  they  stood  solid  less  than  twenty  years 
ago  against  his  sword  ;  and  even  the  embittered  mal 
contents  in  his  own  ranks,  had  no  hand  in  his  mur 
der  ;  but  all  alike,  in  the  better  nobility  of  human 
nature,  now  stand  in  common  horror  and  pity  over 
his  wounds.  Nay,  the  whole  world,  betraying  its  gen 
uine  faith  and  hope  in  the  American  republic,  lifts 
its  outstretched  arms,  and  its  hands  are  filled  with 
the  lilies  of  sympathy  for  us  and  for  him.  No  decree 
issued  through  the  secret  channels  of  banded  social 
ists  made  his  assailant  their  slave  and  tool.  The 
Czar  fell  beneath  the  avenging  and  relentless  pursuit 
of  organized  murder.  Abraham  Lincoln  fell  the  last 
and  noblest  martyr  of  a  civil  war  which,  victorious 
upon  the  field,  yet  carried  in  its  train  the  forked 
and  hissing  flames  of  treachery  and  assassination. 
But  Garfield,  in  a  time  of  profound  peace,  when, 
aided  by  his  own  generous  words,  the  sympathies  of 
the  Union  were  welding  into  their  old  fraternity,  of 
which  there  could  be  no  better  proof  than  the  trib 
utes  of  sympathy  that  have  come  up  to  him  from 
every  quarter ;  in  a  time  of  universal  prosperity, 
when  the  whole  land  smiles  with  the  promise  of 
plenteous  harvests  and  with  the  happy  homes  and 
returns  of  thrifty  industry ;  in  a  country  the  very 
atmosphere  of  which  is  freedom,  where  no  man's  lips 
are  tied,  and  where  no  man  lives  who  has  not  before 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

the  law  equal  redress  with  every  other  man,  — ay, 
and  full  redress  for  every  grievance ;  in  a  country 
which  is  a  very  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  the 
whole  world  else,  —  Garfield,  the  embodiment  of 
American  humanity  ;  whose  name  a  year  ago  was  on 
these  walls  as  the  hope  and  example  not  only  of  the 
scholar,  but  of  the  poor  and  humble ;  whose  heart 
never  had  an  ungenerous  throb  ;  upon  whom  the 
only  criticism  was  the  boyish  and  bubbling  sympathy 
of  his  nature;  who  had  risked  his  life  in  battle  for 
his  fellow-men,  and  pitched  his  voice  in  peace  to  the 
highest  notes  of  liberty,  —  Garfield  falls  bleeding  be 
neath  the  crazy  pistol-shot  of  a  fool.  The  monstrous 
meaninglessness  of  the  purpose  robs  the  deed  of 
something  of  its  horror.  But  not  meaningless  is  the 
lesson.  If  the  will  that  did  the  killing  was  that  of  a 
maniac,  yet  the  maniac  takes  his  cue  as  well  as  other 
men.  This  time,  so  far  as  he  took  it  from  the  Nihil 
ists'  sophistry  and  the  spectacle  of  the  czar's  death, 
let  it  be  a  warning.  So  far  as  he  took  it  from  the 
poisonous  example  of  great  party  leaders  dragging 
the  honor  of  American  politics  into  the  mire  of  spoils 
and  plunder,  let  it  be  a  warning.  So  far  as  he  took 
it  from  a  system  which  makes  the  holding  of  civil 
office  the  reward  of  the  most  persistent  camp-fol 
lower  and  go-between,  let  it  be  a  warning. 

These  are  lessons  which  this  awful  calamity  teaches. 
But  it  does  not  shake  the  foundations  of  that  "  gov 
ernment  of  the  people  which  shall  not  perish  from 
the  earth."  If  the  murderer  was  of  sound  mind,  let 
his  punishment  be  stern,  swift,  and  sure.  If  not,  or, 
in  any  event,  terrible  as  is  the  blow,  it  is  like  the 
lightning  which  knows  no  respect  of  persons,  save 
that  the  tallest  monarch  of  the  forest  oftenest  at 
tracts  and  takes  the  stroke.  Let  no  worshiper  of 
more  absolute  government  find  in  this  event  a  charge 
against  our  own.  In  the  prophetic  and  reverent  words 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  President  himself  upon  the  death  of  Lincoln, 
—  reverent  alike  toward  heaven  and,  as  is  his  wont, 
toward  his  fellow-men,  —  "  God  reigns,  and  the  gov 
ernment  at  Washington  still  lives."  And  God  grant, 
is  the  fervent  prayer  of  Massachusetts,  that  our  now 
stricken  President  may  rise  from  his  wounds  to  the 
renewed  love  and  loyalty  of  his  people,  and  to  the 
yet  better  administration  of  their  affairs.  So  shall 
our  chastisement  work  our  welfare.  Yes,  while  Pres 
ident  Garfield's  administration  had  not  yet  worked 
out  of  port  into  the  open  sea,  nevertheless  this  sud 
den  peril  of  his  life  has  reawakened  us  to  the  great, 
undoubted  nobility  of  his  life,  his  services,  and  his 
character.  Whatever  else  was  true,  in  him  a  great 
American  heart  throbbed  at  the  centre  of  govern 
ment.  '  There  may  have  been  question  of  some  of 
his  personal  selections,  but  the  nation's  relation  to 
other  nations  has  suffered  nothing  in  dignity  or  right, 
its  material  and  financial  interests  have  been  secure, 
and  the  frauds  that  had  been  suffered  to  fester  in 
its  flesh  have  been  put  to  the  curing  and  stern  knife 
of  excoriation. 

And  yet,  when  the  rumor  came,  as  it  came  at  first, 
that  Garfield  was  dead,  we  called  up  less  the  Presi 
dent  than  the  man.  What  a  graceful  tribute  to  our 
government  of  the  people  it  is  that,  North,  South, 
East,  and  West,  not  a  true  citizen  is  there  whose 
heart  did  not  go  out  with  the  sympathy  and  tender 
ness  of  comradeship  !  It  is  one  of  our  own  number 
that  has  been  stricken  down.  It  is  the  poor  boy  of 
our  own  youth,  bare  of  foot  and  weighted  with  pov 
erty,  lifting  his  eyes  through  humble  toil  to  the 
heights  of  American  education  and  opportunity.  It 
is  our  own  classmate,  revisiting  the  college  halls  and 
classic  scenes  of  his  youth  to  lay  the  wreath  of  his 
great  glory  at  the  feet  of  his  alma  mater,  and  to  read 
in  the  loving  eyes  of  his  wife  and  children  the  hon- 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

est  pride  that  comes  from  the  hand-clasp  and  con 
gratulations  of  those  who  knew  and  loved  him  in 
early  days.  It  is  the  comrade  of  our  own  veterans, 
who  fought  with  him  at  Chickamauga.  It  is  our 
own  tribune,  who,  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  upon  the 
platform,  in  many  a  brave  and  inspiring  word  to  his 
countrymen,  young  and  old,  has  spoken  so  nobly  for 
humanity,  for  equal  rights,  for  honest  money,  for 
high  ideals  and  systems  of  political  service,  and  for 
the  national  advancement.  And  it  is  to  the  wife  and 
mother,  not  of  the  President,  but  of  one  of  our  own 
number,  that  our  tenderest  sympathies  go  forth  as 
we  recall  the  ripe  and  bending  years  of  the  one, 
whose  brow  is  still  happy  with  the  inauguration  kiss 
of  her  boy,  and  whose  life  spans  at  once  the  Western 
pioneer's  cabin  and  the  White  House,  —  a  tragedy  at 
either  end,  —  or  recall  the  devotion  of  the  other  from 
school-days  till  now,  who  has  alike  brightened  his 
simple  Western  home,  and  to-day,  in  this  terrible 
crisis,  sitting  at  his  bedside,  stands  for  the  heroism 
of  American  womanhood. 

Amid  these  halls  for  the  education  of  American 
youth,  most  earnestly  do  I  claim  that  such  a  crime  is 
utterly  un-American,  —  as  shocking  and  irrelevant  as 
the  monstrosities  that  now  and  then  sully  the  fair 
perfection  of  nature  herself.  All  the  more  for  that 
reason  the  contrast  brings  out  the  normal  placidity 
and  security  of  our  freedom.  Grief  and  pity  and 
sorrow  are  ours,  but  with  them  come  the  lesson  and 
the  duty,  —  to  stand  closer,  to  raise  the  standard 
higher,  to  rise  above  the  meanness  of  wrangle  and 
selfish  plundering,  to  scatter  the  miasmatic  fog  of 
fanaticism  with  common  sense  and  good  example, 
and  to  live  more  for  ourselves  by  living  less  for  our 
selves  and  more  for  our  fellow-men  and  country.  I 
offer  the  prayer  which  is  in  all  your  hearts,  and 
which  is  breathed  by  the  whole  Commonwealth,  from 


1 6  INTRODUCTION. 

Greylock's  top  to  the  pebbles  upon  the  beach  at 
Provincetown,  —  prayer  for  the  restoration  to  health 
and  duty,  and  for  the  return  another  year  to  these 
beautiful  scenes,  with  which  his  name  and  memory 
will  be  forever  associated,  of  Williams'  foremost  grad 
uate,  Massachusetts'  distinguished  descendant,  and 
the  nation's  beloved  President,  James  A.  Garfield  ! 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Genealogy  of  the  Garfield  Family.  —  Earliest  Mention  of  them  in  Eng 
land.  —  Associated  with  Robert  Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester,  favor 
ite  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  —  The  Family  in  Wales.  —The  Home  of 
Edward  Garfield  in  Chester,  England.  —The  First  oi  the  Family 
in  America.  —  The  Coat  of  Arms.  —  History  of  Captain  Benjamin 
Garfield.  — Abraham  Garfield  at  the  Concord  Fight,  in  1775.— 
Emigration  of  Solomon  to  New  York  State.  —  Death  of  Thomas 
at  Worcester,  N.  Y.  —  Birth  of  Abraham  Garfield.  — His  removal 
to  Ohio.  —  His  Marriage  with  Eliza  Ballou.  —  Brothers  marry  Sis 
ters.  —  Their  Remarkable  Characteristics.  —  Early  Married  Life 
along  the  New  Canal.  —  Birth  of  the  first  Children.  —  Selection  of 
a  Home  in  the  Woods, 25 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   OLD    HOMESTEAD. 

The  Opening  of  Ohio  to  Settlers.—  The  Early  Habitations.  —  The 
Primitive  Forests.  —  Wild  Beasts.  —  Appearance  of  Cleveland.  — 
Fertility  of  the  Soil.  —  Abram  Garfield  and  his  Wife.  —  Excursion 
of  the  Brothers  into  the  Woods.  —  Selection  of  a  Home.  —  The 
first  Clearing.  —  Small  Quarters.—  Arrival  of  the  Boynton  Family. 
—The  first  Cabin.  —  The  Removal  of  the  Garfield  Family.  —  The 
Forest  Road.  —Two  Families  in  One.  — Joy  of  the  Sisters.  —No 
Place  like  One's  own  Home.  —  The  Garfield  Log  Cabin,  —  Settle 
ments  opened  about  Them.  —  Clearing  their  Farm.  —The  School- 
House,  ' 38 

CHAPTER   III. 

BIRTH   OF  JAMES   AND    DEATH    OF   HIS   FATHER. 

Birth  of  James.  —  The  Fourth  Child  of  the  Family.  —  Rejoicings.  — 
Humble  Surroundings.  —  Named  after  his  Uncle  and  his  Father. 
—  Effect  of  that  Calamity.  —  Sympathy  of  the  Neighbors.  —  In 
Debt.  — Widow  advised  to  give  away  her  Children.  — Attempting 
to  save  the  Home. — Finishing  the  Rail  Fence. — Industry  of 
Thomas.  —  His  Self-sacrifice.  —  Occupation  of  the  Widow.  —  Her 
Love  for  Reading.  —  Teaching  Little  James,  ....  46 


1 8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

HABITS   AND    INCIDENTS   OF    HIS   BOYHOOD. 

Not  precocious.  —  His  Plays.  —  A  petted  youngest  Child.  —His  early 
Tasks.  —  Absence  of  a  Father's  Discipline.  —  His  absolute  Truth 
fulness. —  Could  not  lie  to  his  Mother.  — Ashamed  to  be  called  a 
Coward.  —  His  Uncle  Amos.  —  Wholesome  Fear.  —  Love  of  Poe 
try.  —  Names  the  Trees  and  Rocks  after  Heroes  and  Heroines.  — 
Beading  at  home.  —  Country  Lyceum.  —  Mother's  Watch-care,  55 

CHAPTER  V. 

YOUTHFUL     OCCUPATIONS. 

Early  Maturity.  —  Boiling  Salts.  —  A  Man's  Work  at  Harvesting.  — 
Ambition  to  be  a  Carpenter.  —  New  Frame  House  at  Orange.  — 
Learning  the  Trade.  —  Out  of  Work.  —  Chopping  Wood.  —Wish 
es  to  be  a  Sailor.  —  Visits  a  Ship  at  Cleveland. —  Abandons  the 
Idea  of  being  a  Sailor.  —  Finds  Employment  on  the  Ohio  Canal. 

—  A  Driver  Boy.  —  Fever  and  Ague. — A  Quarrel.  —  An  Acci 
dent.  —  Goes  Home  to  his  Mother, 67 

CHAPTER  VI. 

EFFORTS   TO    OBTAIN   AN   EDUCATION. 

Slow  Recovery.  —  Meeting  with  Mr.  Bates.  —  A  Private  Tutor.  —  De 
termined  Beginning.  —  The  Geauga  Seminary.  —  Estimates  the 
Cost  of  a  Term  at  School.  —  Earns  a  small  Sum  to  start  with.  — 
His  Mother's  Help.  —  Boarding  himself  at  Chester.  —  Pudding  and 
Molasses.  —  Advantages  of  a  healthy  Body,  —  Teaching  School.  — 
Vacation  Work,  —  Interest  in  Religion. — Disciples  of  Christ. — 
Religious  Persecution.  —  Trustworthy  Work.  — A  Good  Name,  78 

CHAPTER  VII. 

SCHOLAR  AND  TEACHER  AT  HIRAM. 

Leaving  Chester.  —  Description  of  Hiram. — The  Crown  of  Ohio. — 
The  Eclectic  Institute.  —  Course  of  Study.  —  A  Leader  among  the 
Students.  —  Janitor  of  the  Building.  — Urged  to  become  a  Preach 
er. — Determined  to  attend  College.  —  The  Debating  Club.  —  A 
Revolt.  —  Outside  Studies. — Work  as  a  teacher.  —  Works  on  alone 
into  the  College  Text-books.  —  Borrows  money  of  his  Uncle 
Thomas.  —  Starts  for  Williamstown  College,  .  .  .  .91 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

LIFE   AT   WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

His  Health.  —  Appearance  of  the  Hoosac  Valley.  —  Scenery  about 
Williams  College.  —  The  Great  Natural  Amphitheatre.  —  The 
Mountains  in  October.  —  Character  of  the  Students.  —  Garfield's 
Habits  as  a  Student.  —  Enters  the  Junior  Class.  —  His  Modesty. 

—  Friendship  of  President  Hopkins  and  Professor  Chadbourne.  — 
His  Truthfulness  at  College.  —  His  Graduation.—  Classmates,  102 


CONTENTS.  19 

CHAPTER   IX. 

• 

A   PREACHER   AND   PROFESSOR. 

A  Preacher  in  the  Church  of  the  Disciples.  —  Estimation  of  his  Abil 
ities  among  his  old  Neighbors.  —  Rise  of  Infidelity  at  Chagrin 
Falls.  —  Spiritualism  and  Christianity.  —  Exciting  public  Discus 
sion.  —  Professor  Denton  vs.  Professor  Garfield.  —  How  the  Victo 
ry  was  won.  —Mr.  Garfield's  Popularity  as  a  Teacher.  —  Testimo 
ny  of  Students.— Marriage  with  Miss  Lucretia  Rudolph. —His 
Speech  at  Hiram, Ill 

CHAPTER  X. 

POLITICIAN    AND   LAWYER. 

Political  Sympathies.  —  Hope  of  making  the  Law  a  Profession.  —  En 
ters  his  Name  as  a  Student,  —  Years  of  hard  Study.  —  Profitable 
Use  of  all  his  Time.  —  His  Legal  Research. — Interest  in  Local 
Politics.  —  A  Stump-speaker's  Challenge.  —  First  Speech.  —  Nom 
ination  for  the  State  Senate.  —  In  the  Service  of  the  State.  — 
Leaving  the  Gospel  for  Politics.  —  Mrs.  Garfield's  Love  of  Domes 
tic  Life,  124 

CHAPTER    XI. 
THE   EVENTFUL   YEAR   OF    1 86 1. 

Admission  to  the  Bar.  —  "Withdraws  from  Ministerial  Work.  —  Oppo 
sition  to  Slavery. —  Leadership  in  the  State  Senate.  —  The  Gov 
ernor's  Assistant.  —  Providing  for  the  Troops.  —  The  Regiment  of 
Hiram  Students.  —  Depletion  of  the  Classes.  —  Appointment  as 
Lieutenant-Colonel. —  Promotion.  —  Departure  for  the  Field. — 
Consultation  with  General  Buel.  —  Plan  of  a  Campaign.  —  March 
against  Marshall.  —  Battle  of  Prestonburgh.  —The  Account  of  F. 
H.  Mason.  —  Promotion, 134 

CHAPTER   XII. 

CAMPAIGNS     IN   KENTUCKY   AND   TENNESSEE. 

Lack  of  Provisions.  —  The  Great  Flood.  —  Dangerous  Situation  of  the 
Troops.  —  General  Garfield  goes  to  the  Ohio  River.  —  Perilous 
Voyage  up  the  Big  Sandy.  —  Reception  by  the  Hungry  Troops.  — 
Expedition  against  the  Enemy  at  Pound  Gap.  —  General  Orders 
connected  with  his  Campaign.  —  His  Transfer  to  Louisville.  —  His 
New  Command.  —  Forced  Marches.  —  The  Battle  of  Corinth.  — 
Refusal  to  return  Slaves  to  their  Masters.  —  Election  to  Congress. 
Appointment  as  Chief  of  General  Rosecrans'  Staff.  —  Battle  of 
Chickamauga.  —  Promotion  to  Major-General.  —  Resignation.  157 


20  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

REVIEW    OF   HIS   MILITARY   CAREER. 

Fitness  for  Military  Affairs.  —  How  he  became  familiar  with  Infantry 
Tactics.  —  Carries  the  chief  Characteristics  of  his  Boyhood  into 
Army  Life.  —  His  Knowledge  of  Law.  —  Military  Trials.  —  The 
Tullahoma  Campaign.  —  His  Ability  as  an  Engineer.  —  His  great 
Plan  for  an  onward  Movement  from  Murfreesboro.'  —  His  Official 
Report.  —  Compliment  from  General  Rosecrans.  —  His  Resigna 
tion 175 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

SERVICE  AS   A   LEGISLATOR. 

A  new  Field.  —  The  highest  Test  of  human  Greatness.  —  The  Ameri 
can  Congress.  — Frequent  Failures  of  noted  Men.  — The  Trials  of 
that  Crisis.  —  Placed  on  the  Military  Committee.  —  The  Style  of 
his  Speeches.  —  His  Industry.  —  His  Reply  to  Mr.  Long.  —  An 
impromptu  Speech.  —  The  Compliments  of  Old  Members,  .  187 

CHAPTER   XV. 

EARLY   SPEECHES. 

His  Position  concerning  the  Draft  for  the  Army.  —  Differs  with  his 
own  Party.  —  Contends  for  Frankness  and  Truth.  — Hopeful  View 
of  the  Nation's  Success.  —  National  Conscience  and  Slavery.  — 
Emancipation  the  Remedy  for  National  Evils.  —  Defense  of  Gen 
eral  Rosecrans.  —  Tribute  to  General  Thomas.  —  His  Account  of 
the  Battle  of  Chickamauga.  —  The  Doctrine  of  State  Rights.— 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  vs.  the  United  States.  —  W  hat  is 
the  Power  and  Prerogative  of  the  Nation,  .  ...  202 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

EULOGIES     OF   NOTED   MEN. 

To  Abraham  Lincoln.  — The  Anniversary  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Death.  — 
Cause  of  the  Assassination.  —  Effect  of  his  Death.  —  A  Beautiful 
Tribute.  — Oration  on  Carpenter's  Painting.  —  Signing  the  Eman 
cipation  Proclamation.  — Its  Place  in  History.  — John  Winthrop 
and  Samuel  Adams.  —  The  Gift  of  Massachusetts,  —  General  Gar- 
field's  Tribute  to  New  England.  —  The  Lesson  of  Self-restraint.  — 
Remarks  upon  the  Death  of  Senator  Morton,  .  .  .  .216 

CHAPTER   XVII.    . 

PERIOD   OF   UNPOPULARITY. 

His  Practice  of  Law. — His  first  Case  in  the  Supreme  Court. — His 
success  as  a  Lawyer.  —  Unpopularity  of  his  Defense  of  Rebels  in 
Court.  —  His  Connection  with  a  Matter  called  the  De  Golyer 


CONTENTS.  21 

Pavement  Case.  —  How  he  was  Maligned.  —  Persistency  of  Enemies. 
—  The  great  Credit  Mobilier  Case  —  Vindication  of  General  Garfield.  — 
His  Story  of  his  Dealings  with  Oakes  Ames. — His  Opposition  to  the 
Increase  of  Salaries  in  Congress.  —  The  Censure  of  his  Constituents. — 
His  Explanation.  —  Restoration  to  Public  Favor  ....  244 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

LABORS    IN    CONGRESS. 

Appointment  on  Committees.  — Variety  of  Work.  — His  Leadership.  —  List 
of  Speeches.  — The  Electoral  Commission.  —  Speech  in  Wall  Street.  — 
His  Views  on  Finances.  —  Resumption  of  Specie  Payments  .  .  318 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

SENATOR   AND    CANDIDATE    FOR   THE    PRESIDENCY. 

Action  of  his  Old  Neighbors.  —  Election  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  by  the  Ohio 
Legislature.  —  His  Speech.  —  Views  of  his  Family.  —  Their  New  Home 
at  Mentor.  —  The  Chicago  Convention.  —  Strange  Prophecies.  —  The 
Great  Partisan  Conflict. —His  Nomination  on  the  36th  Ballot. —The 
Slanderous  Campaign.  —  General  Garfield' s  Behavior.  —  Triumphant 
Election , 324 

CHAPTER   XX. 

INAUGURATION. 

Assailed  by  Office  Seekers.  —  The  Responsibilities  and  Annoyances  of  a  Pres 
ident.' —  Methods  of  Securing  a  Hearing.  —  General  Garfield's  Self -Sac 
rifice. —  His  Home  Life  Broken  Up.  —  Ceremonies  of  Inauguration. — 
Difficulties  in  Selection  of  Counselors.  —  The  Cabinet .  .  .  .  335 


CHAPTER   XXL 

THE   ASSASSINATION. 

Charles  J.  Guiteau.  —  Seeking  an  Appointment.  —  Events  of  his  Life.  — His 
Dishonesty.  —  A  Lawyer,  Writer,  and  Stump  Speaker.  —  Applies  for  a 
Consulship.  —  The  Refusal. — Deadly  Purpose. — Encouragement  from 
the  Political  Contest  in  the  Senate.  —  Determines  to  Murder  the  Presi 
dent. —  Hopes  of  Escape.  —  Following  the  President.  —  Failure  of  his 
Courage.  —  Mrs.  Garfield's  Pale  Face  saves  the  President.  —  The  Final 
Attempt.  —  The  Meeting.  —  The  Fatal  Shot.  —  The  Prison.  —  The 
White  House.  —  Universal  Grief.  —  Exhibitions  of  Heroic  Devotion  and 
Love.  —  The  Prisoner  in  his  Cell 342 


22  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

DEATH   AND    BURIAL. 

Removal  to  Long  Branch.  —  The  Francklyn  Cottage.  — Views  of  the  Sea. — 
—  Pictures  of  Grief.  —  The  Physicians.  —  The  Attendants.  —  Last  Mo 
ments. —  Sympathy  of  the  People  and  of  the  Nations. — The  Funeral 
Procession/— Iii  State  at  Washington.  —  Funeral  at  Cleveland. — His 
Resting  Place  ...  .  354 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

IN    MEMORIAM. 
Incidents,  Anecdotes,  Tributes,  and  Reflections 377 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL   GARFIELD.    Steel. 

FRONTISPIECE. 

PORTRAIT   OF  MRS.  GARFIELD.     Steel.    Opposite  pagre   120 

EARLY  HOME  OF  GENERAL  GARFIELD.           "  «     44 

TOW  BOY         .......              "  "74 

HIRAM  COLLEGE     .-'*'.       .        .        .           "  "93 

CAPITOL  AT  COLUMBUS  .        .        .     '  .        .        .  "135 
''GIVE  'EM  HAIL  COLUMBIA"    .        .        .  Opposite  page  140 

PLAN  OF  CHICKAMAUGA  BATTLE-FIELD         "  "     171 

CAPITOL  AT  WASHINGTON         ....  "191 

RESIDENCE  AT  MENTOR         . .        .        .      Opposite  "     326 

WHITE  HOUSE,  WASHINGTON  .  '  ,  .  .  "  341 

ASSASSINATION  ......  "  "350 

SCENE  IN  SICK  ROOM "  "354 

FRANCKLYN  COTTAGE  AT  LONG  BRANCH  "  "  355 

PORTRAIT  OF  HIS  MOTHER  ..."  "  357 

GROUP  OF  HIS  FIVE  CHILDREN.  .  "  "  359 

LYING  IN  STATE  AT  THE  CAPITOL  .  "  "  363 

VIEW  OF  PROCESSION,  CLEVELAND  .  "  "  374 
VIEW  IN  LAKE  VIEW  CEMETERY,  THE 

LAST  RESTING-PLACE  OF  PRESIDENT 

GARFIELD                                                                    "  "      376 


THE  LIFE, 


OF 

GEN.  JAMES  A.  GABFIELD 

CHAPTER    I. 

GENEALOGY  OF  THE  GABFIELD  FAMILT.  —  EARLIEST  MENTION  OF  THEM 
IN  ENGLAND.  —  ASSOCIATED  WITH  BOBEBT  DUDLEY,  EABL  OF  LEI- 
CESTEB,  FAVOBTTE  OF  QUEEN  ELIZABETH.  —  THE  FAMILY  IN  WALES. 
—  THE  HOME  OF  EDWABD  GABFIELD  IN  CHESTEB,  ENGLAND.  —  THB 
FIRST  OF  THE  FAMILY  IN  AMEBICA.  —  THE  COAT  OF  ARMS.  —  HIS- 
TOBY  OF  CAPTAIN  BENJAMIN  GABFIELD.  —  ABRAHAM  GABFIELD  AT 
THB  CONCOBD  FIGHT,  IN  1775.  —  EMIGRATION  OF  SOLOMON  TO  NEW 
YOBK  STATE.—  DEATH  OF  THOMAS  AT  WOBCESTEB,  N.  Y.—  BIBTH 
OF  ABBAM  GABFIELD.  —  HIS  BEMOVAL  TO  OHIO.  —  HIS  MABBIAGE 
WITH  ELIZA  BALLOU.—  BBOTHEBS  MABBY  SISTERS.  —  THEEB  BE- 
MABKABLB  CHABACTEBISTICS.  —  EABLY  MABBIED  LIFB  ALONG  THB 
NEW  CANAL.  —  BIBTH  OF  THJI  FIBST  CHILDREN.  —  SELECTION  OF 
A  HOME  IN  THB  WOODS. 

SHOULD  the  time  ever  come  when  it  shall  be 
proven  by  scientific  investigators  that  man,  as  a  be 
ing,  is  but  "  the  aggregation  of  minute  developments 
and  of  varied  experiences,"  the  genealogical  history 
of  his  ancestors  will  be  shown  to  be  of  the  first  im 
portance  in  forming  an  estimate  of  his  ability  and 


26      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

character.  If  it  be  true,  as  now  claimed  by  scien 
tific  leaders  of  modern  thought,  that  the  child  is  born 
with  all  the  experiences  and  mental  accumulations  oi 
his  progenitors,  paternal  and  maternal,  latent  in  his 
brain  and  system  ;  then,  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  his 
physical  mould  and  of  his  mental  peculiarities,  the 
student  of  biography  would  need  to  secure  impossi 
ble  information  about  the  lives  of  the  generations 
past  in  order  to  measure  the  physical  power  and 
mental  capabilities  of  the  man  whose  life  he  studies. 
Whether  the  writers  and  scholars  who  devote  so 
much  of  their  time  to  genealogical  studies  take  this 
scientific  view  of  the  matter  or  not,it  is  certain  that, 
for  some  reason,  the  study  of  genealogy  is  taking  a 
prominent  place  in  the  pursuits  of  scholarly  men. 
Having,  however,  no  faith  in  the  theory  that  the 
men  of  to-day  are  but  the  aggregations  of  experi 
ences  and  developments  in  the  past,  and  giving  but 
little  credit  to  the  aristocratic  claim  that  ancestry 
makes  the  nobleman,  we  give  the  line  of  the  Garfield 
family  for  the  benefit  of  such  as  may  deem  it  import 
ant.  The  tendency  of  this  record  is  to  show  that  all 
the  individuals  of  the  different  races  are  born  into 
the  world  with  very  similar  characteristics  and  with 
much  greater  equality  in  mental  endowments  than 
aristocracy  is  willing  to  admit.  It  shows,  too,  that  it 
is  not  what  our  fathers  were  so  much  as  what  we 
make  of  ourselves,  that  determines  our  right  to  no 
bility  or  praise.  Ancestry  and  health  wield  a  per 
ceptible  and  sometimes  a  strong  influence ;  but  the 
capital  we  are  born  with  may  be  increased  a  hundred 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        27 

fold  by  our  own  exertions.  It  is  this  increase  which 
constitutes  the  noblest  claim  to  human  greatness. 

The  earliest  known  mention  of  the  Garfield  family 
is  in  1587,  when  it  appears  that  one  James  Garfield 
(or  Gearfeldt),  was  given  a  tract  of  land  on  the  bor 
ders  of  Wales,  near  Chester,  England,  through  the 
influence  of  Robert  Dudley,  Earl  of  Leicester.  A 
natural  inference  would  be  that  he  had  performed 
some  military  service  on  the  Continent,  under  that 
celebrated  favorite  of  Royalty,  or  was  of  some  special 
service  to  Robert  at  Kenilworth  or  London.  The 
estate  thus  conferred  is  said  to  be  situated  near  Os- 
westry,  and  not  far  from  the  most  beautiful  and  cele 
brated  vale  of  Llangollen,  on  the  border  of  Wales. 
What  was  the  nationality  of  James  Garfield,  whether 
Welch  or  English,  German  or  Dutch,  does  not  ap 
pear.  The  most  probable  conjecture  is  that  he  was 
Welch,  and  was  a  warrior  of  some  note,  perhaps  a  de 
scendant  of  the  old  Knights  of  Gaerfili  Castle,  The 
estate  conferred  upon  him  was  either  released  by 
him,  taken  from  him,  or  for  some  reason  his  children 
did  not  inherit  it,  and  no  mention  of  them  appears, 
so  far  as  is  now  known,  in  any  record  of  the  Garfield 
family  until  1630,  when  Edward  Gearfield,  of  Ches 
ter,  England,  came  to  America,  in  a  company  of 
colonists,  who  embarked  with  his  family  under  the 
auspices  of  Governor  John  Winthrop. 

The  name  appears  again  at  Watertown,  Massachu 
setts,  in  1635,  and  is  probably  the  same  man.  He 
was  born  in  1575.  Of  this  Edward  Garfield  (or  Gear- 
field)  quite  full  accounts  come  down  to  us,  and  curi- 


28      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,   AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

ous  searchers  into  the  family  history  claim  to  have 
discovered  his  Coat  of  Arms.  If  the  following  de 
scription  of  the  family  escutcheon  be  correct,  as 
claimed  by  those  who  have  given  the  matter  study, 
it  goes  far  to  confirm  the  previous  conclusion  that 
the  Garfields  were  a  martial  family  of  wealth  and  in 
fluence  in  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  perhaps 
in  the  Crusades.  It  had  three  horizontal  bars  of  red 
on  a  field,  or  background,  of  gold  in  the  center  of 
the  shield,  and  a  red  Maltese  cross  on  an  ermine  can 
ton  or  corner  piece.  The  crest  consisted  of  a  helmet 
with  the  visor  raised,  and  an  uplifted  arm  holding  a 
drawn  sword.  For  a  motto  were  the  words :  "In 
cruce  vinco,"  (by  the  cross  I  conquer). 

This  Edward  Garfield,  from  whom  the  present 
large  Garfield  family  in  America  has  descended,  ap 
pears  to  have  taken  no  great  pride  in  his  lineage  or 
lordly  titles,  for  he  took  a  personal  and  laborious 
share  in  the  manual  labor  connected  with  the  clearing 
of  his  land  in  Watertown,  and  left  but  a  meager  trace 
of  his  armorial  badge.  His  house  was  built  on  a 
beautiful  spot  in  Watertown,  overlooking  the  Charles 
River,  and  the  site  is  still  pointed  out  to  visitors, 
near  the  railroad  station  of  the  Fitchburg  railroad. 
In  this  house  he  lived  but  a  few  years  before  he  was 
able  to  purchase  a  much  larger  estate  in  the  western 
part  of  Watertown,  near  the  present  location  of  the 
Waltham  town  line.  On  this  land  he  erected  a  capa 
cious  mansion,  and  surrounded  himself  with  all  the 
comforts  and  elegance  of  the  "  gentleman  "  of  that 
period;  and  the  estate  now  known  as  the  "  Gov.  Gore 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        2Q 

place,"  still  holds  its  position  as  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  valuable  estates  in  Massachusetts.  Ed- 
ward  Garfield,  Sr.,  had  two  sons,  viz.,  Edward,  Jr., 
and  Samuel.  The  latter  lived  a  bachelor's  life,  but 
Edward,  Jr.,  was  a  selectman  three  years,  and  mar 
ried  a  lady  of  Newton,  Massachusetts,  who  died  April 
1 6,  1 66 1.  She  had,  however,  before  her  death,  given 
birth  to  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  viz.,  Samuel, 
the  date  of  whose  birth  we  cannot  ascertain,  but  who 
died  November  20,  1684;  Joseph,  who  was  born 
August  14,  1631  ;  Rebecca,  who  was  born  March  10, 
1640;  Benjamin,  who  was  born  in  1643,  and  died 
November  28,  1717;  and  Abigail,  who  was  born 
June  29,  1646. 

BENJAMIN  GARFIELD,  Edward,  Jr.'s  fourth  child, 
remained  at  home  in  the  old  mansion,  and  married 
Mehitable  Hawkins,  in  1673.  After  the  birth  of  two 
children,  viz.,  Benjamin  and  Benoni,  she  died  De 
cember  9,  1675,  and  her  gravestone  is  still  standing 
in  the  cemetery  at  Watertown.  Benjamin  married 
Elizabeth  Bridge,  of  Watertown,  for  his  secon4  wife, 
January  17,  1677.  By  this  second  marriage  there 
were  born  to  him  Elizabeth,  whose  birth  was  June  30, 
1679;  Thomas,  born  December  12,  1680,  and  who 
died  in  Weston,  Mass.,  February,  1752;  Anne,  who 
was  born  June  2,  1683 ;  Abigail,  who  was  born  July 
13,  1685;  Mehitable,  whose  birth  was  December  7, 
1687;  Samuel,  whose  birth  was  September  3,  1690; 
and  Mary,  who  was  born  October  2,  1695. 

Captain  Benjamin  Garfield,  the  father,  was  a  dis 
tinguished  citizen  of  Watertown,  and  was  given  a 


3O      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

captain's  commission  by  the  Governor,  in  the  Colonial 
Militia.  He  held  numerous  town  offices,  and  was 
elected  nine  times  to  the  Colonial  Legislature.  He 
was  a  stout,  broad-shouldered  man,  with  an  open, 
cheerful  countenance,  and  most  affable  and  kind  in 
his  manners.  His  light  complexion,  and  especially 
the  light  hair,  appear  to  have  descended  to  the  pres 
ent  generation. 

It  appears,  from  the  old  records,  that  Captain  Gar- 
field's  house  and  barn  were  burned  on  the  night  of 
March  29,  168-,  by  his  negro  servant,  Joshua,  and 
on  the  night  of  April  Qth,  Joshua  was  discovered  with 
his  throat  cut,  a  knife  clasped  in  his  hand.  He  had, 
perhaps,  committed  suicide  out  of  remorse.  In  1684 
the  captain's  fence  was  burned  by  Christopher  Thomp 
son,  who  was  ordered  to  be  sold  into  a  neighboring 
colony.  Both  of  these  were  probably  slaves. 

His  eldest  son  by  his  second  wife,  LIEUT.  THOMAS 
GARFIELD,  was  married  to  Mercy  Bigelow,  daughter 
of  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  (Flagg)  Bigelow,  January  2, 
1706,  and  he  also  made  his  home  at  the  old  home 
stead.  At  his  death,  the  estate  passed  out  of  the 
family.  He  appears  to  have  inherited  many  of  his 
father's  natural  qualities,  and  to  have  won  for  himself 
the  esteem  and  friendship  of  the  people  of  his  town. 
He  was  commissioned  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Militia, 
and  saw  active  service  in  a  campaign  against  the  In 
dians.  His  wife  died  February  28,  1744.  He  died 
February  4,  1752.  They  had  twelve  children,  viz,, 
Elizabeth,  born  August  10,  1708;  Eunice,  born  Aug 
ust  23,  1710;  THOMAS,  JR.,  March,  1713,  and  who 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  31 

died  January  3,  1774;  Thankful,  born  February  15, 
1715  ;  Isaac,  born  February  19,  1716;  John,  born 
December  3,  1718;  Samuel,  born  April  n,  1720; 
Mercy,  born  June  17,  1722  ;  Ann,  born  June  i,  1724; 
Lucy,  October  5,  1725  ;  Elisha,  November  n,  1728; 
and  Enoch,  June  23,  1730. 

THOMAS  GARFIELD,  JR.,  married  Rebecca  Johnson, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Rebecca  Johnson,  of  Lunen- 
burg,  Mass.,  and  moved  to  Weston,  and  afterwards 
to  Lincoln,  Mass.,  where  he  owned  a  large  farm,  and 
where  he  died,  January  3,  1774.  Their  children 
were  born  as  follows,  viz.,  Solomon,  July  18,  1743; 
Rebecca,  September  23,  1745  ;  Abraham,  April  3, 
1748;  Hannah,  August  15,  1750;  Lucy,  March  3, 

I754- 

SOLOMON  GARFIELD,  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  Jr., 
married  Sarah  Stimson,  of  Sudbury,  May  20,  1766, 
and  soon  after  his  marriage  they  moved  to  Worces 
ter,  Otsego  County,  N.  Y.,  where  he  purchased  a 
farm.  He  was  accidentally  killed  by  falling  from  a 
beam  in  his  barn,  in  1806.  His  children  were 
Thomas,  Solomon,  Rebecca,  Hannah,  and  Lucy. 

Solomon's  brother  Abraham  was  an  earnest  devo 
tee  of  American  independence,  and  lived  at  Lincoln, 
Massachusetts,  when  the  Revolutionary  war  began. 
He  was^one  of  the  first  volunteers  who  enlisted  in 
defense  of  the  Colonies,  and  was  in  the  fight  at  Con 
cord,  and  was  side  by  side  with  the  ancestors  of  many 
illustrious  Americans,  including  Judge  E.  Rockwood 
Hoar  of  Massachusetts.  The  signature  of  Judge 
Hoar's  great-grandfather,  John  Hoar,  and  Abraham 


32      THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

Garfield  are  still  preserved,  and  the  curious  docu 
ment  they  signed  was  an  important  matter  in  its 
time. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  separation  from 
England  was  not  generally  meditated,  and  it  was 
deemed  important  to  endeavor  to  fix  the  responsi 
bility  for  the  beginning  of  the  conflict,  showing 
which  side  struck  the  first  blow,  in  the  event  of  a 
settlement  of  the  troubles.  Therefore  the  affidavits 
of  many  persons  concerned  were  secured  and  pre 
served.  Their  deposition,  showing  how  the  attach 
on  Concord  Bridge  began,  was  as  follows :  — 

LEXINGTON,  April  23,  1775. 

WE,  John  Hoar,  John  Whithead,  Abraham  Gar- 
field,  Benjamin  Munroe,  Isaac  Parker,  William  Hos- 
mer,  John  Adams,  Gregory  Stone,  all  of  Lincoln,  in 
the  County  of  Middlesex,  Massachusetts  Bay,  all  of 
lawful  age,  do  testify  and  say  that,  on  Wednesday 
last,  we  were  assembled  at  Concord,  in  the  morning 
of  said  day,  in  consequence  of  information  received 
that  a  brigade  of  regular  troops  were  on  their 
march  to  the  said  town  of  Concord,  who  had  killed 
six  men  at  the  town  of  Lexington ;  about  an  hour 
afterwards  we  saw  them  approaching,  to  the  number, 
as  we  apprehended,  of  about  1200,  on  which  we  re 
treated  to  a  hill  about  80  rods  back,  and  the  said 
troops  then  took  possession  of  the  hill  where  we  were 
first  posted  ;  presently  after  this,  we  saw  the  troops 
moving  toward  the  north  bridge,  about  one  mile  from 
the  said  Concord  meeting-house ;  we  then  immedi 
ately  went  before  them  and  passed  the  bridge,  just 
before  a  party  of  them,  to  the  number  of  about  200, 
arrived  ;  they  then  left  about  one-half  of  their  200  at 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       33 

the  bridge,  and  proceeded,  with  the  rest,  toward 
Col.  Barrett's,  about  two  miles  from  the  said  bridge  ; 
and  the  troops  that  were  stationed  there,  observing 
our  approach,  marched  back  over  the  bridge  and 
then  took  up  some  of  the  planks ;  we  then  hastened 
our  march  toward  the  bridge,  and  when  we  had  got 
near  the  bridge,  they  fired  on  our  men,  first,  three 
guns,  one  after  the  other,  and  then  a  considerable 
number  more;  and  then,  and  not  before  (having  or 
ders  from  our  commanding  officer  not  to  fire  till  we 
were  fired  upon),  we  fired  upon  the  regulars  and  they 
retreated.  On  their  retreat  through  the  town  of 
Lexington  to  Charlestown  they  ravaged  and  de 
stroyed  private  property  and  burnt  three  houses,  one 
barn,  and  one  shop. 

Signed  by  each  of  the  above  deponents. 

Solomon  was  also  a  strong  advocate  of  American 
Independence,  and  met  with  a  company  on  training- 
day,  but  for  some  reason  was  not  called  into  the  militia. 

Solomon's  eldest  son,  THOMAS  GARFIELD,  was 
born  in  1775,  and  lived  a  farmer's  life  at  Worcester, 
Otsego  County,  N.  Y.,  and  married  Asenath  Hill, 
of  Sharon,  N.  Y.  Their  children  were  Polly,  Betsey, 
Abram,  and  Thomas.  Abram  was  named  for  his 
patriotic  uncle,  who  fought  at  Concord. 

This  Abram  Garfield  was  the  father  of  James  A. 
Garfield,  the  subject  of  this  biography.  Abram  was 
born  December  28, 1 799,  at  Worcester,  Otsego  County, 
N.  Y.,  and,  as  his  father,  Thomas  Garfield,  was  an 
industrious  man,  and  not  a  wealthy  farmer,  he  kept 
Abram  at  close  and  hard  labor  during  his  early  years. 
Abram  had  but  little  opportunity  for  obtaining  an 
education,  although  naturally  a  gifted  and  thoughtful 
3 


34      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

man.  The  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal  gave  em 
ployment  to  a  large  number  of  people  along  the  line 
during  the  time  of  Abram's  later  youth  and  early 
manhood;  and  the  first  money  he  was  able  to  save,  is 
said  to  have  been  in  connection  with  a  job  as  a  la 
borer  on  the  Erie  Canal. 

When  the  Government  decided  to  construct  the 
Ohio  Canal,  and  thus  open  to  communication  with  the 
East  the  beautiful  lands  of  Ohio,  many  people  living 
in  the  State  of  New  York  moved  into  Ohio,  and 
quite  a  number  of  the  contractors  and  laborers  who 
had  found  employment  on  the  Erie  Canal,  sought  the 
same  opportunity  on  the  Ohio  Canal.  Through  the 
influence  of  friends  who  had  moved  from  Worcester 
to  Ohio,  Abram  Garfield  and  his  half-brother,  Amos 
Boynton,  secured  an  interest  in  a  contract  on  the 
Ohio  Canal,  and  they  went  to  Ohio  when  Abram 
was  twenty-one  years  old. 

At  the  town  of  Perry,  Muskingum  County,  Abram 
met  again  with  one  of  his  old  playmates,  Miss  Eliza 
Ballou,  who  had  accompanied  her  family  to  Perry  a 
year  or  two  before.  They  had  been  confidential 
friends  in  Worcester  and  the  friendship  of  youth 
ripened  into  the  love  of  maturer  years.  Miss  Ballou 
is  represented  to  have  been  an  unusually  attractive 
young  lady,  petite,  sprightly,  and  possessing  the  spirit 
of  tireless  activity.  Eliza  and  her  sister  Alpha  were 
such  industrious,  intelligent  girls,  as  to  cause  the 
"Ballou  Sisters"  to  be  held  up  by  parents  in  the 
neighborhood  as  examples  of  neatness  and  activity. 

It  appears  that  Abram  and  his  half-brother  Amos, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       35 

did  not  have  a  very  easy  courtship,  so  far  as  com 
municating  or  meeting  with  their  sweethearts  affected 
their  happiness,  for  their  work  was  arduous,  and  their 
abode  much  of  the  time  away  on  the  banks  of  the 
unfilled  canal.  However,  with  but  little  capital  and 
less  household  furniture  with  which  to  begin  life, 
Abram  married  Eliza,  and  Amos  married  Alpha. 

Abram  and  Eliza  immediately  after  their  marriage 
in  1819,  removed  to  the  town  of  Independence,  Cuy- 
ahoga  County,  Ohio,  where  Abram  was  engaged  in 
excavating  for  the  canal.  From  the  first  day  of  their 
marriage,  Eliza  entered  upon  the  work  of  gaining  a 
livelihood  with  a  will,  and  by  weaving,  knitting,  keep 
ing  as  boarders  the  workmen  on  the  canal,  she  con 
tributed  her  full  share  to  the  gains  of  the  partnership. 
She  inherited  many  of  the  noble  qualities  of  her 
ancestry;  and  the  heroism  of  her  brother,  James  Ballon, 
in  the  war  of  1812,  or  of  that  distinguished  uncle,  Ho- 
sea  Ballou,  in  his  controversy  with  his  Baptist  breth 
ren  over  his  Universalist  belief,  was  never  greater 
nor  more  worthy  of  respect  than  the  ceaseless,  and 
good-natured  self-sacrifice  of  their  little  niece  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  Canal.  Many  of  the  Ballou  family 
have  held  high  positions.  In  New  Hampshire  where 
the  family  first  settled,  in  Vermont  to  which  one 
branch  early  emigrated,  and  in  Boston,  where,  as  the 
President  of  Tufts  College,  as  the  Editor  of  the 
Universalist  Magazine,  as  the  preacher  of  sermons, 
now  classic,  as  the  author  of  the  History  of  the 
Crusades,  the  editor  of  Balloits  Pictorial,  and  The 
Flag  of  our  Union,  and  as  the  editor  and  founder  of 


36      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

the  Boston  Daily  Globe,  they  have  been  known  and 
honored ;  but  neither  the  Ballou  family,  nor  the  In- 
galls  family,  from  whom  they  descended  on  their 
mother's  side,  throughout  all  their  scholarly  ranks 
can  show  a  more  lovable  and  admirable  character 
than  that  displayed  by  those  remarkable  sisters 
Eliza  and  Alpha,  in  the  wilds  of  Ohio. 

But  it  is  somewhat  aside  from  the  purpose  of  this 
volume  to  give  in  lengthy  detail  the  life  of  the  pa 
rents  and  we  turn  with  regret  from  a  chapter  that 
may  never  be  written.  After  the  canal  was  com 
pleted  at  and  near  Independence,  Abram  moved 
to  Newburgh,  a  town  which  has  since  become  a  ward 
of  the  city  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Meantime,  there 
were  born  to  him  three  children,  viz.,  Mehitable, 
now  Mrs.  Trowbridge,  of  Solon,  Ohio,  Thomas,  now 
a  farmer  at  Jamestown,  Ottawa  County,  Michigan, 
and  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Larabee,  of  Solon,  Ohio,  her 
husband  being  a  second  cousin  of  General  U.  S. 
Grant. 

Those  early  years  of  their  married  life  from  1819 
to  1829  were  full  of  unremittent  toil  and  hardship, 
and  after  ten  years  of  such  self-denial,  Abram  and 
Amos  found  themselves  with  a  very  meager  sum  on 
hand  for  future  capital,  They  had  labored  dili 
gently,  they  had  saved  scrupulously,  they  had  availed 
themselves  of  every  known  opportunity,  yet  the  re 
sult  of  the  decade's  work  was  most  unsatisfactory- 
They  had  no  home.  Abram  and  Eliza  had  built  air 
castles,  planned,  discussed  and  dreamed  of  a  home 
in  which  they  and  their  children  could  dwell  in  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        37 

sweet  retirement  of  domestic  love  and  joy.  Yet  their 
children  were  growing  up  without  the  sweet  influ 
ences  and  hallowed  associations  which  brighten  the 
life  and  sharpen  the  intellects  of  those  who  enjoy 
the  ownership  of  a  country  home,  while  the  presence 
of  boarders  and  the  objectionable  people,  who,  for  a 
time,  sought  employment  on  the  canal  and  congre 
gated  at  its  terminus,  made  it  almost  imperative  for 
these  upright,  devoted  parents  to  seek  other  associa 
tions  for  their  children. 

Just  at  that  time,  1829,  there  was  quite  an  excite 
ment  over  the  advance  in  the  prices  of  land  in  Ohio, 
which  very  naturally  turned  the  attention  of  the  peo 
ple  toward  the  purchase  of  wild  land  and  toward  the 
desirability  and  profitableness  of  a  farmer's  life.  With 
a  view  to  locating  somewhere,  and  clearing  a  tract  of 
land  for  a  farm,  Abram  with  his  half-brother  Amos 
made  many  excursions  into  the  interior  for  the  pur 
pose  of  selecting  a  site;  and  in  the  summer  of  1829 
they  concluded  a  bargain  for  fifty  acres  of  land  for 
each,  at  a  cost  of  $2.00  per  acre,  and  situated  in  the 
township  of  Orange,  about  sixteen  miles  south-east  of 
Cleveland.  It  was  a  heavily  wooded  tract  of  land  of 
the  " forest  primeval,"  and  it  must  have  required  a 
very  active  and  hopeful  imagination  to  have  foreseen 
in  the  gloom  of  that  silent  woodland,  a  future  farmer's 
home,  with  waving  fields  of  grain,  cows  feeding  in 
the  pastures,  and  children  sporting  on  a  wide  door- 
yard  lawn.  Yet  they  were  happy  in  such  dreams; 
and  our  history  will  begin  by  an  account,  in  the  next 
chapter,  of  their  removal  to  their  forest  home  where 
James  was  born.  /• 


38       THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   OLD    HOMESTEAD. 

THE  OPENING  OF  OHIO  TO  SETTLERS. — THE  EARLY  HABITATIONS. — 
THE  PRIMITIVE  FORESTS. — WILD  BEASTS. — APPEARANCE  OF  CLEVE 
LAND. —  FERTILITY  OF  THE  SOIL.  —  ABRAM  GARFIELD  AND  HIS 
WIFE.  —  EXCURSION  OF  THE  BROTHERS  INTO  THE  WOODS.  — SELEC 
TION  OF  A  HOME. — THE  FIRST  CLEARING. — SMALL  QUARTERS. — 
ARRIVAL  OF  THE  BOYNTON  FAMILY. — THE  FIRST  CABIN. — THE 
REMOVAL  OF  THE  GARFIELD  FAMILY. —  THE  FOREST  ROAD. —  TWO 
FAMILIES  IN  ONE.  —  JOY  OF  THE  SISTERS.  — NO  PLACE  LIKE  ONE'S 
OWN  HOME. —  THE  GA.RFIELD  LOG  CABIN. —  SETTLEMENTS  OPENED 
ABOUT  THEM.  —  CLEARING  THEIR  FARM  .  —  THE  SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

OHIO,  as  early  as  1803,  had  taken  her  place 
among  the  States  of  the  nation,  and  the  "  Western 
Reserve"  lands,  belonging  to  the  State  of  Connec 
ticut,  had  been  nearly  all  sold  to  settlers  and  speculat 
ors  when  Cleveland  was  incorporated  as  a  village,  in 
1814.  But  the  State  had  not,  as  late  as  1828,  as 
sumed  that  thrifty  and  mature  appearance  which  to 
day  reminds  the  traveler  so  forcibly  of  that  New 
England  from  whence  so  many  of  the  people  came. 
The  tracts  of  land  which  had  been  cleared  had  not 
parted  with  their  primitive  stumps,  and  the  towns 
were  composed  largely  of  log  houses,  or  low,  one- 
story  wooden  dwellings,  put  up  in  the  cheapest  and 
most  hasty  manner,  as  if  for  a  mere  temporary  stop 
ping  place,  to  be  occupied  but  for  a  few  weeks. 
There  were  vast  forests  still  untouched  in  which  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        39 

bears,  deer,  raccoons  and  foxes  still  found  hiding 
places  ;  and  there  were  prairies  still  unbroken,  where 
the  wildest  and  fiercest  of  wolves  secreted  them 
selves  by  day  and  howled  hideously  by  night. 
Cleveland,  now  such  a  stately,  populous  city,  with  a 
shipping  that  equals  many  old  seaports  of  the  Atlan 
tic,  was,  in  1828-9,  a  village  with  several  small 
stores,  and  three  or  four  diminutive  churches.  The 
highways  were  few  and  most  rudely  graded,  and  it 
was  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  hear  of  settlers 
whose  little  cabins  were  twenty  miles  from  any  pas 
sable  highway ;  in  which  case,  they  worked  their 
way  across  the  country  to  the  public  road  as  best 
they  could,  choosing  their  own  route.  The  Indians 
had  not  been  so  completely  exterminated  by  General 
Wayne  as  to  be  altogether  unknown,  and  Indian 
squaws  and  Indian  hunters  were  frequently  met  in  the 
forests  and  seen  begging  at  the  cabin  doors  in  the 
clearings.  It  seems  hardly  credible  that  within  the 
memory  of  men  and  women  living,  such  a  condition 
of  things  existed  in  that  Ohio,  which  to-day  is  so 
stable,  so  dignified,  so  enterprising  in  all  the  arts  of 
this  progressive  age,  having  the  appearance  of  cen 
turies  of  civilization. 

But  one  cannot  trust  to  his  eyes  in  a  country  like 
this.  Ohio  possessed  a  soil  so  surcharged  with  veg 
etable  life,  that  the  grains  of  civilization  felt  instant 
ly  its  vivifying  touch,  and  leaped  like  intelligent  be 
ings  into  luxuriant  maturity,  and  danced  as  they 
ripened  in  the  breezes  of  the  lakes. 

To  clear  the  forests,  to  break  up  the  prairie,  to 


4O        THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

construct  the  canals,  railroads,  highways,  dwellings, 
barns,  fences,  and  sow  the  grain,  was  at  first  a  task 
that  required  strong  arms,  persevering  minds,  and 
fearless  spirits.  Ohio  had  many  of  them  in  1828. 
But  the  equal  of  any  man,  and  the  superior  of  many 
was  Abram  Garfield.  He  was  large,  robust,  of  light 
complexion,  auburn  hair  and  with  a  high  forehead. 
Physically,  he  was  one  of  the  strongest  men  in  Ohio. 
He  seldom  met  his  equal  in  feats  of  physical  strength; 
and  if  there  was  found  any  huge  boulder,  or  large 
log  which  the  men  on  the  canal  or  in  the  woods 
could  not  handle,  they  called  for  "  Abe  Garfield,"  and 
the  obstruction  was  removed.  He  was  a  fearless, 
frank,  energetic  man,  less  rude  than  the  majority  of 
his  associates,  and  giving  the  heartiest  expressions 
of  his  love  for  his  family,  and  his  good  will  toward 
his  neighbors. 

Such  was  the  man,  who,  with  his  younger  half- 
brother,  Amos  Boynton,  went  into  the  wilderness  of 
Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio,  to  clear  a  spot  for  their 
homes.  Their  land  was  two  miles  and  a  half  from 
the  nearest  open  road,  and  they  were  obliged  to  cut 
.the  way  for  their  ox  team  through  the  underbrush, 
and  to  build  a  rude  hut  to  occupy  at  night.  It  is 
said  the  two  young  pioneers  shook  hands  as  they 
took  the  axes  to  fell  the  first  tree  on  the  line  be 
tween  their  lands,  and  said  they  would  live  and  die 
together  there.  They  had  never  owned  a  foot  of 
land  before.  This  was  their  own.  Wolves  might 
howl,  and  bears  might  threaten,  they  were  happy  in 
the  consciousness  of  superior  strength  and  right. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       4! 

The  forest  steadily  and  surely  melted  away  before 
the  vigorous  woodsmen,  and  the  proper  logs  having 
been  saved  from  fire  and  axe  for  the  purpose,  the 
work  of  constructing  a  log  house  for  Amos  was  be 
gun.  They  had  no  thought  of  pride  then,  and  but 
little  of  convenience;  but,  influenced  by  the  over 
mastering  desire  to  get  a  home  of  their  own  as  soon 
as  possible,  they  constructed  a  building  which  was 
said  afterwards  to  be  too  small  for  a  convenient  loom 
house. 

A  few  days  after  their  first  arrival,  Amos  con 
cluded  to  bring  his  family  and  lodge  them  in  a  log 
shed  or  weaving-cabin  belonging  to  their  nearest 
neighbor,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  their  clearing. 
So  the  family  were  brought  and  stowed  away  in  that 
little  cabin,  scarcely  twelve  feet  square,  and  there 
on  the  ground  they  set  their  rude  furniture  and 
waited  day  by  day  for  the  completion  of  their  new 
home.  One  child,  Mr.  Henry  B.  Boynton,  was  born 
in  that  little  structure. 

When  the  cabin  for  Amos  was  covered,  and  a  floor 
laid  in  one  end  of  it  for  the  beds,  Amos  moved  his 
family  in,  and,  according  to  the  previous  understand 
ing,  Abram  wenttoNewburghfor  his  family.  It  was 
New  Year's  day,  1830.  There  was  a  heavy  fall  of 
snow,  and  in  the  clearings  it  had  drifted  badly.  He 
was  obliged  to  unyoke  the  oxen  often,  and  drive 
them  wallowing  over  a  ravine,  and  returning  drag  the 
rude  ox  sled  himself  through  the  snow.  The  road 
had  improved  somewhat  before  his  return,  but  what 
was  gained  in  more  solid  snow  banks,  was  lost  in  be- 


42      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

ing  heavily  loaded  with  his  household  goods  and  fam 
ily.  That  trip  from  Newburgh  to  their  clearing  in 
Orange  away  back  in  January,  1830,  Mrs.  Garfield 
never  has  forgotten,  notwithstanding  the  subsequent 
bitter  and  dangerous  experiences.  The  oldest  boy, 
Thomas,  was  then  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  and,  in 
heriting  his  father's  hardy  qualities,  gave  considera 
ble  assistance.  But  it  was  a  long,  weird,  cold  and 
exciting  journey  through  an  almost  unbroken  forest, 
on  a  road  such  as  the  woodmen  now  would  consider 
to  be  unfit  and  unsafe  for  the  transportation  of 
wood. 

Yet  the  whole  family,  with  a  feeling  akin  to  that 
the  traveler  on  the  ocean  feels  when  longing  for 
land,  looked  forward  with  joyful  anticipation  to  the 
establishment  of  a  home  and  the  erection  of  those 
household  gods  with  which  all  childhood  homes 
abound. 

It  was  a  joyful  meeting  at  the  log  hut  there  in  the 
woods.  Two  brothers,  two  sisters  and  their  fami 
lies,  with  the  one  distant  neighbor,  were  to  be  a  com 
munity,  a  State,  a  law  unto  themselves,  and  they  de 
termined  that  love  should  abolish  the  need  of  law. 
Rough  in  manners,  some  of  them  might  have  been, 
and  probably  were;  uncouthly  dressed,  perhaps,  if 
judged  by  the  standards  of  the  Boulevards  or  Broad 
way,  rough  hands  there  must  have  been;  but  the 
great  hearts  and  strong  brains  which  make  nobles 
of  the  laborers,  and  found  great  nations,  were  there 
also. 

"  Is  this  your  house.  Uncle  Amos  ? "  asked  the 
children. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        43 

"Yes,  and  yours,    too,   for  a  while,"    said   Amos. 

Mrs.  Garfield  is  said  to  have  been  delighted  with 
the  consciousness  that  she  could  stand  on  their  own 
soil. 

"Is  this  our  own  land,  Abram  ? "  said  she.  "I 
cannot  realize  it." 

Years  afterward,  and  even  to  this  day,  the  sisters 
visit  frequently  the  spot  where  first  they  set  foot  on 
their  own  land,  and  each  lives  over  again  the  sensa 
tions  of  those  good  old  days.  So  frequently  did 
Alpha  visit  the  place  where  she  first  slopped  and 
asked  :  "  Amos,  is  this  our  land  ? "  and  so  sacred  did 
she  hold  it,  that  the  children  gave  it  the  name  of 
"  Mother's  retreat,"  and  always  scrupulously  left  her 
to  herself  whenever  they  saw  her  put  on  her  bonnet 
and  start  in  the  direction  of  the  place.  Births,  mar 
riages,  deaths,  have  come  since  then.  The  strong 
men  are  laid  low,  the  children  are  scattered,  and  the 
trees  have  been  cleared  away  and  grown  again,  but 
the  two  women  live  to  visit  their  sacred  "retreats,'* 
and  to  recite  the  tales  of  their  early  adventures  in 
the  ears  of  a  wondering  generation. 

When  the  two  families  were  safely  packed  away  in 
the  little  cabin  with  one  room  and  one  fire-place,  the 
brothers  began  the  construction  of  Abram's  house. 

They  selected  a  spot  about  forty  rods  from  the 
other  cabin,  and  on  an  elevated  mound,  behind  which 
was  a  little  ravine  and  a  diminutive  streamlet.  A 
short  distance  down  the  ravine  was  a  living  spring, 
which  was  found  aftej-ward  to  be  a  most  convenient 
and  valuable  household  appendage. 


44     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

There,  with  the  ox  team  for  the  transportation  of 
timber  from  the  adjacent  forest,  and  with  their  own 
natural  Yankee  skill  to  hew  it,  and  their  own  strong 
arms  to  raise  it,  they  constructed  the  old  log  cabin, 
without  a  "  raising,"  and,  as  Amos  always  took  pride 
in  adding,  "  without  whiskey." 

This  log  house  was  nearly  square,  with  the  front 
door  in  the  middle,  and  the  windows,  about  two  feet 
square,  in  each  end.  It  was  ready  for  occupancy  in 
the  early  spring,  and  in  time  to  sow  the  front  yard 
with  wheat.  During  the  summer  other  cabins  were 
erected  within  a  circuit  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  so  that 
they  did  not  long  feel  the  weight  of  an  almost  com 
plete  isolation.  It  required  the  closest  management 
for  the  new  farmer  to  secure  a  livelihood  through  the 
months  preceding  the  sale  of  the  first  crop,  and  no  lit 
tle  watching  to  keep  his  family  from  the  wolves  and 
from  the  possible  visits  of  fiercer  beasts.  But  all 
seem  to  have  willingly  endured  all  the  privations  of 
poverty  and  isolation  with  cheerfulness,  often  making 
jokes  of  their  greatest  hardships.  The  brothers  often 
exchanged  work,  and  so  together  cleared  the  fields 
of  stumps,  constructed  fences,  and  set  out  fruit  trees. 
Such  saplings,  seeds,  or  stock  as  they  needed,  one 
or  the  other  procured  at  Cleveland.  So  that  at  the 
close  of  the  autumn  of  1830  both  farms  were  in  a 
prosperous  -condition,  giving  promise  of  rich  harvests 
in  the  year  to  come. 

Other  relatives,  and  many  of  his  former  acquaint 
ances,  purchased  tracts  of  land  in  the  county  and  in 
adjoining  counties,  and  the  three  years  which  fol- 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES   A.  GARFIELD.  45 

lowed  Abram's  removal  to  his  new  home  saw  many 
clearings  and  improvements  made  in  that  whole 
region.  His  fifty-acre  tract  of  land  underwent  a 
complete  transformation.  Early  and  late  he  toiled 
with  the  oxen ;  and  such  a  share  did  those  beasts  of 
burden  have  in  the  establishment  and  improvement 
of  his  home  that  Abram  regarded  them  with  affec 
tionate  fondness,  and  treated  them  with  the  most 
friendly  and  patient  consideration. 

It  was  a  grand  thing  to  see  the  forest  and  wild- 
wood  give  place  to  the  garden  of  vegetables,  the. 
fields  of  grain,  and  the  orchards  of  apples.  Abram- 
and  Eliza  appreciated  the  wonderful  change.  Those 
were  their  sweetest,  best  days,  when  they  watched 
for  the  sprouts  of  corn  and  wheat  with  the  eagerness 
and  innocence  of  children,  when  the  whole  family 
joined  in  the  gathering  of  the  harvest,  or  when  about 
the  roaring  winter  fire  they  sat  and  talked  of  the 
past  or  planned  for  the  future. 

Soon  a  log  school-house  was  constructed,  across 
the  ravine  at  th"e  back  of  Abram's  house,  and  at  one 
corner  of  his  clearing.  This  furnished  a  means  of 
education  for  their  children,  and  Abram  and  Eliza 
were  happy. 


46      THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 


CHAPTER   III. 

BIRTH  OF  JAMES  AND  DEATH  OF  HIS  FATHER. 

BIRTH  OF  JAMES.  —  THE  FOURTH  CHILD  IN  THE  FAMILY.  — REJOICINGS. 
—  HUMBLE  SURROUNDINGS.  —  NAMED  AFTER  HIS  UNCLE  AND  HIS 
FATHER.  —  DEATH  OF  HIS  FATHER.  —  THE  EFFECT  OF  THAT 
CALAMITY.  —  THE  SYMPATHY  OF  THE  NEIGHBORS.  —  IN  DEBT. — 
WIDOW  ADVISED  TO  GIVE  AWAY  HER  CHILDREN.  — ATTEMPTING  TO 
SAVE  THE  HOME.  —  FINISHING  THE  RAIL  FENCE. —INDUSTRY  OF 
THOMAS.  —  HIS  SELF-SACRIFICE.  — OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  WIDOW.  — 
HER  LOVE  FOR  READING.  —  TEACHING  LITTLE  JAMES. 

NOVEMBER  19,  1831,  nearly  two  years  after  Abram 
had  taken  his  family  to  their  new  home  at  Orange, 
the  household  was  made  happier  by  the  birth  of  an 
other  son.  Yet,  so  far  as  the  child  was  concerned, 
it  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  very  auspicious  beginning 
of  life.  It  had  been  a  difficult  task  to  feed  the  chil 
dren  already  in  the  family.  The  gloomy  log  cabin, 
made  more  shadowy  by  the  attempts  to  shut  out  the 
cold  winds  of  November,  could  not  be  said  to  be  an 
augury  of  future  brightness.  The  crying  of  a  child 
within  the  humble  abode,  and  the  barking  of  wolves 
in  the  woodland  near  at  hand,  suggest  nothing  unu 
sual,  prophetic,  or  propitious.  Such  circumstances 
have  surrounded  the  birth  of  many  men,  and  will 
attend  the  nativity  of  many  more.  These  circum 
stances  neither  make  nor  unmake  men.  But  they  do 
present  the  encouraging  thought  that  if,  from  such 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        47 

humble  beginnings,  a  useful  life  may  be  made,  then 
there  are  none  so  poor  and  humble  but  they  may 
improve  their  condition  and  become  benefactors. 

Yet  the  infant  was  welcomed  heartily  by  his  large- 
hearted  father,  and  his  appearance  was  •  made  the 
occasion  for  congratulations  among  all  the  neigh 
bors.  For  in  the  woods  then,  there  were  loving  and 
honest  neighborly  sympathy  and  interest  in  each 
other's  welfare,  which  the  non-conducting  brick  walls 
of  a  city  prevent  or  destroy.  Then,  if  a  person  died 
within  twenty  miles,  all  the  farmers,  in  sincere  sym 
pathy,  left  their  work,  and  appeared  at  the  sad  rites. 
If  there  was  a  birth  or.  marriage  all  rejoiced.  If 
there  was  a  "raising,"  where  help  was  needed,  all 
were  there.  Children  of  the  cities  often  grow  up 
be  narrow,  useless,  weakly  men  and  women,  for  the 
lack  of  this  wholesome  large-hearted  spirit  which 
nature  and  freedom  impart. 

When  the  time  came  to  name  the  baby,  he  was 
given  the  name  of  James  Abram,  the  first  being 
that  of  his  uncle  in  his  mother's  family,  and  the 
last  being  that  of  his  father.  There  could  have  been 
none  of  those  poetic  high  hopes  of  the  child's  future 
greatness  on  the  part  of  his  parents,  which  we  often 
find  mentioned  in  biographical  works,  or  they  would 
have  selected  some  other  name  than  James,  which 
in  that  region  was  simply  a  suggestion  to  call  him 
"Jim."  Neither  his  father  nor  his  mother  had  any 
loftier  hopes  than  that  he  would  become  an  honest 
man  and  a  good  citizen. 

But  when  the  child  was  about  a  year  and  a  half 


48      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

old  an  event  happened  which  suddenly  left  the  fam 
ily  in  the  greatest  gloom. 

Abram  Garfield  had  been  fighting  fire.  From  sev 
eral  heaps  of  burning  brush,  a  conflagration  had 
spread  to .  his  fences,  woodland,  and  fields,  and 
threatened  destruction  to  everything  around.  In 
the  contest,  which  lasted  for  many  hours,  the  strong 
man  became  so  heated  and  fatigued,  that  he  eagerly 
sought  the  shade  and  breeze  of  his  cabin  doorway. 
He  had  been  warned  of  the  danger  that  lurked  in 
cold  drafts  of  air,  but,  trusting  in  his  robust  health 
and  past  escapes,  sat  in  the  draft  and  fanned  himself 
with  his  hat.  It  was  a  fatal  mistake.  For  in  three 
days  the  husband  and  father  lay  in  the  log  cabin  a 
corpse.  Who  can  imagine  the  shock  to  the  wife  and 
mother?  So  unexpected  and  so  terrible.  The  neigh 
bors  could  not  for  a  .while  credit  the  rumor  that 
Abram  Garfield  was  dead.  He  had  been  the  most 
certain  of  a  long  life,  of  any  man  they  knew.  Could 
it  be  that  Abram  Garfield  had  actually  died  of 
disease  ? 

To  the  widow  it  was  for  a  while  a  paralyzing 
shock,  which  she  could  not  comprehend.  But  when 
little  James,  just  toddling  about  and  beginning  to 
speak  whole  words,  pulled  at  the  sheets  of  his 
father's  bier,  as  the  body  lay  on  the  boards  across 
two  chairs,  and  piteously  called  for  his  papa,  she 
must  have  felt  the  keenest  agony.  The  other  chil 
dren,  Thomas,  Mehitable,  and  Mary,  were  older,  and 
could  understand  what  death  meant.  But  little 
Jimmy  would  not  be  quiet  while  his  papa  slept  such 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        49 

an  unusual  sleep.  He  could  read  in  the  sorrowful 
faces  and  sobs  of  all  about  him  that  something  sad 
had  happened ;  so  from  one  to  another  the  baby 
wandered,  with  his  large  eyes  filled  with  tears,  touch- 
ingly  and  hesitatingly  saying  to  each,  "  Papa." 

"What  a  pity/'  said  one,  "that  such  a  helpless 
little  child  should  be  left  fatherless  ! " 

"  His  mother  cannot  support  him,"  said  another ; 
"  at  all  events,  some  of  the  children  will  have  to  be 
given  away  or  bound  out." 

"  She  must  sell  the  farm  at  once,"  said  a  third, 
"for  there  is  no  one  now  to  complete  the  fences  nor 
cultivate  the  farm.  Poor  soul !  This  will  kill  her ! " 

Yet  the  sorrowing  woman  did  have  one  comfort. 
Her  .husband  was  loved  by  all  and  she  had  deep  and 
hearty  human  sympathy.  Have  you  ever  been  poor 
and  imprisoned  in  a  great  city,  with  the  body  of  a 
child,  or  wife,  or  husband,  or  a  mother,  or  a  father 
lying  in  death  in  your  front  room  ?  Have  you  ever 
in  your  grief  glanced  at  the  passing  crowds,  and 
longed  for  one  look  of  sympathy?  Have  you  ever 
wished  that  your  next  neighbor  would  stop  the  piano, 
or  his  loud,  careless  laughter,  or  quiet  his  noisy  chil 
dren  at  play  about  your  door?  Did  not  the  per 
sistent  calls  of  traders,  market  men  and  beggars  har 
row  up  your  stricken  soul  and  cover  your  cheeks 
with  the  hot  tears  of  unutterable  woe  ?  Like  the 
"Ancient  Mariner's"  surfeit  of  water  with  none  to 
drink,  you  sat  wretched  and  lone,  friendless  and  un 
noticed  in  your  sorrow,  while  around  you  an  ocean 
of  humanity  surged  and  rolled,  wasting  its  super- 


5O      THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

abundance  of  sympathy  on  poodle  pets  and  hardened 
criminals  ;  and  caring  not  if  the  dirty  gamins  in  the 
gutters  pelted  your  meager  funeral  procession  with 
sticks  and  stones. 

If  you  have  experienced  this  not  uncommon  woe, 
your  heart  will  bless  those  Ohio  pioneers,  whose 
children  whispered  about  their  doors  and  hushed 
their  voices  in  the  plays  of  school  recess,  saying, 
'  Poor  Jimmy's  father  is  dead/'  you  will  have  a  sincere 
yearning  for  their  friendship,  as  you  hear  how  the 
hardy  plowmen  came  from  many  miles  away,  and 
with  tears  coursing  their  rough  cheeks,  offered 
consolation  and  help.  All  mourned  in  sincerity,  all 
remembered  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  in  that 
hour  of  trial. 

The  funeral  which  soon  followed  was  unostenta 
tious  and  simple,  but  called  out  a  large  attendance  of 
friends  and  neighbors.  Little  Jimmy  was  the  re 
cipient  of  many  a  sad  caress  on  that  occasion,  and 
tears  freely  flowed  at  the  sight  of  his  helplessness 
and  artlessness,  from  fountains  which  even  the  pres 
ence  of  the  stricken  widow  had  not  unloosed. 

In  that  same  year  Sir  Henry  Taylor  wrote  "  The 
world  knows  nothing  of  its  greatest  men,"  and  his 
true  saying  would  have  been  a  wiser  one  had  it 
passed  into  literature  that  "  The  world  knows  nothing 
of  its  greatest  women."  The  situation  in  which 
Eliza  Garneld  was  left,  was  peculiarly  disheartening 
because  she  was  a  woman.  To  a  man,  with  physical 
strength,  with  opportunities  for  gain,  with  power  to 
compel  respect  for  himself  and  his  children,  the  cir- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        51 

cumstances  which  follow  the  death  of  a  consort  are 
not  so  appalling.  But  the  utter  despair  which  must 
have  rilled  that  widow's  heart,  when  with  her  father 
less  little  ones  she  entered  alone  their  log  home  after 
the  burial,  cannot  be  known  to  those  who  have  not 
had  a  like  sorrow.  The  phantoms  which  his  pres 
ence  had  kept  aloof  from  their  cabin,  the  shadows 
which  his  face  had  ever  dispelled,  came  boldly  in  at 
the  door,  and  lurked  in  the  corners  at  the  approach 
of  every  evening.  The  farm  was  not  fully  fenced. 
The  stock  was  not  paid  for,  and  the  orchard  of  trees 
which  Abram  had  planted  had  not  reached  its  fruit 
age.  There  was  but  a  meager  stock  of  provisions  or 
clothing  on  hand,  and  the  crop  which  had  been  sowed, 
she  seemed  helpless  to  gather.  The  reader  may  say 
that  there  is  nothing  very  uncommon  in  their  situa 
tion,  and  may  say  that  other  women  have  been  in 
even  worse  circumstances;  but  such  facts  do  not 
make  this  experience  any  the  less  interesting,  nor 
these  evidences  of  womanly  heroism  any  the  less 
striking.  If  she  sold  all  their  personal  property  to 
pay  the  debts,  she  must  still  leave  some  unpaid.  To 
the  men  of  business,  there  seemed  no  way  but  to  sell 
the  farm  and  everything  of  personal  property  con 
nected  with  it,  put  the  children  out  into  families 
where  they  could  be  adopted,  or  be  made  to  pay  their 
way  doing  errands  and  light  work,  while  she  could 
probably  support  herself  by  weaving,  or  by  house 
hold  labor  in  the  families  of  those  who  knew  her. 

It   does  not   appear  that   the  brave  woman  ever 
entertained   the   thought  of  following  their  advice. 


52      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

Her  love  was  too  strong,  her  capabilities  for  self- 
sacrifice  too  great  to  admit  of  a  separation  without  a 
struggle  to  maintain  her  family.  In  her  resolution 
she  had  the  sympathy  of  every  one,  even  of  such  as 
looked  upon  it  as  a  foolhardy  undertaking. 

Tn  order  to  pay  the  outstanding  debts,  she  con 
cluded  to  sell  a  part  of  the  little  farm  and  finally 
disposed  of  twenty  acres,  for  a  sum  which  left  her 
thirty  acres  and  two  cows,  free  of  debt.  The  dimen 
sions  were  reduced  but  it  was  still  their  home. 

Thomas  was  a  robust  and  active  boy,  and  appears 
to  have  taken  hold  of  labor  with  a  heroic  devoted- 
ness  worthy  of  his  mother.  It  is  said  that  he  and 
his  mother  actually  attempted  to  complete  the  unfin 
ished  rail  fence  along  one  side  of  their  farm,  but  she 
was  too  light  and  small  to  be  of  much  use  at  a  man's 
work  of  driving  stakes  or  splitting  rails.  Yet  the 
attempt  shows  the  determined  and  independent 
spirit  with  which  she  took  upon  herself  the  office  of 
father  in  addition  to  that  of  mother.  With  the  help 
of  kind  neighbors  and  her  brother-in-law,  Amos, 
who  was  still  her  nearest  neighbor,  the  first  crop  was 
gathered,  and  odd  jobs  of  employment  found  for 
Thomas.  Living  on  the  plainest  food,  wearing  the 
coarsest  clothing;  and  denying  themselves  every 
luxury,  the  little  family  struggled  on  from  day  to  day 
managing  so  as  to  keep  out  of  debt  and  retain  their 
hold  on  their  home.  Mrs.  Garfield  sought  employ 
ment  for  herself  among  the  people  of  that  vicinity, 
and  appears  to  have  earned  considerable  in  spinning, 
weaving  and  knitting,  at  which  she  was  an  expert. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       53 

While  she  was  engaged  at  work,  little  Jimmy  was 
left  in  the  care  of  the  girls,  or,  in  case  the  girls  also 
found  some  work,  he  was  left  with  the  family  of  his 
Uncle  Amos.  She  occasionally  had  an  opportunity 
of  letting  a  few  acres  of  her  land  to  be  cultivated  on 
shares,  and  secured  some  of  her  firewood  in  that 
way,  while  the  remainder  was  brought  in  by  herself 
and  children  by  hand  from  the  borders  of  the  wood 
land. 

Of  Thomas,  whose  industry  as  a  boy,  and  whose 
self-denying  faithfulness  to  his  mother  in  her  needs 
was  remarkable,  the  people  still  retain  most 
praiseworthy  traditions.  Whenever  he  could  work 
extra  hours  and  earn  a  few  pennies  more,  he  never 
neglected  the  opportunity,  and  always  with  most 
touching  indications  of  joy  carried  home  to  his 
mother  with  alacrity  every  cent  of  his  earnings.  He 
seemed  never  to  have  thought  that  he  was  entitled  to 
any  share  of  it  for  amusement  or  luxury.  It  is  still 
related  of  him,  how  he  walked  to  Cleveland  and  back 
on  an  errand,  saving  the  small  cost  of  a  horse,  with  a 
determination  to  "  get  money  enough  extra  to  buy 
Jimmy  a  pair  of  shoes,"  so  that  the  little  fellow  could 
go  to  "the  Sunday  meetings  in  the  School-House." 
However,  the  clothing  for  the  family  was  usually 
secured  by  Mrs.  Garfield  in  exchange  for  her  work. 
When  shoes  became  a  necessity  she  would  weave  or 
sew  for  the  shoemaker,  and  he  would  come  to  her 
cabin  and  make  the  shoes  on  the  spot  and  fit  them 
as  he  put  them  together. 

Yet  it  seems  that  amid  all  this  excessive  labor  and 


54      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

mental  strain,  Mrs.  Garfield  found  time  to  read  papers 
and  books  such  as  the  neighborhood  contained.  Her 
Sabbaths,  doubly  sacred  for  the  gathering  of  her 
family  about  her,  were  also  improved  by  her  in  read 
ing,  and  often  she  read  aloud  to  the  children,  In 
this  way,  no  doubt,  young  James  gained  that  first 
love  for  books  which  afterwards  led  him  into  the 
higher  walks  of  life. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        55 


CHAPTER   IV. 

HABITS  AND  INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  BOYHOOD. 

NOT  PRECOCIOUS.  —  HIS  PLAYS.  —  HIS  GARDEN.  —  THE  PETTED  YOUNG 
EST  CHILD.  — HIS  EARLY  TASKS.  — ABSENCE  OF  A  FATHER'S  DISCI 
PLINE. —HIS  ABSOLUTE  TRUTHFULNESS.  —  COULD  NOT  LIE  TO  HIS 
MOTHER.  —  ASHAMED  TO  BE  CALLED  A  COWARD.  — HIS  UNCLE 
AMOS.  —  WHOLESOME  FEAR.  —  LOVE  OF  POETRY.  —  NAMES  THE 
TREES  AND  ROCKS  AFTER  HEROES  AND  HEROINES. — THE  APPLE 
ORCHARD.  —AMBITION  TO  BE  A  SAILOR,  —  CARELESS  USE  OF  TOOLS. 
—  READING  AT  HOME.  —  COUNTRY  LYCEUM.  —  MOTHER'S  WATCH- 
CARE. 

THE  boyhood  of  James  is  interesting  and  encoura 
ging  to  the  youth  of  our  land,  inasmuch  as  it  lacks 
those  extraordinary  and  unusual  features  which 
would  adorn  a  romance  or  a  fable.  It  was  so  much 
like  the  life  of  many  other  boys,  and  so  little  varied 
from  the  common  experience,  that  it  shows  the  pos 
sibility  that  goodness,  greatness  and  fame  are  within 
the  reach  of  many  other  poor  country  lads.  The 
hardihood  and  intelligence  of  his  mother  may  have 
contained  a  blessing  which  is  exceptional  in  such 
circumstances ;  but  the  life  he  led  in  his  earlier 
years  was,  in  its  daily  routine,  very  similar  to  that  of 
other  fatherless  farmers'  boys.  He  brought  in  at 
night  the  wood  for  the  morning  fire ;  his  bare  feet 
made  solid  the  often  trodden  path  down  to  the 


56     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

spring ;  and  he  was  not  unusually  precocious  in  his 
desire  for  knowledge  or  in  his  willingness  to  work. 

He  constructed  mud  dams  and  set  up  rude  toy  mills 
at  the  little  stream  in  the  ravine  below  the  spring. 
He  sought  out  the  shady  nooks  in  the  near  wood 
land  for  summer  shade,  and  made  caves  in  the  wood 
pile  in  winter,  to  secure  a  sheltered  playhouse.  He 
planted  his  little  garden  in  the  spring,  and  often  lost 
his  interest  in  it  after  the  wonderful  resurrection  of 
the  beans  and  cucumbers  had  ceased  to  astonish 
him.  He  was  the  pet  of  his  mother  and  the  pride 
of  his  brother  and  sisters,  but  poverty  prevented 
anything  like  a  dangerous  indulgence.  Yet  its 
tendency  was  to  make  him  less  inclined  to  work 
either  in  school  or  in  the  field.  But  he  often  entered- 
into  the  sports  of  the  boys  in  the  neighborhood  with 
enthusiasm,  and  sometimes  with  unhealthy  zeal.  If 
he  was  given  a  job  of  work  to  do,  and  a  certain  time 
was  allotted  him  in  which  to  perform  the  task,  his 
whole  soul  engaged  in  the  work,  and  the-  job  was 
pushed  to  completion  with  startling  vigor. 

His  early  life  lacked,  however,  that  energy  and 
promptness  which  is  ever  the  result  when  a  boy  loses 
the  discipline  of  a  father's  presence  and  example.  It 
is  a  surprise  that  he  was  so  active.  Many  boys  have 
been  led  away  into  laziness  and  its  consequent  vices 
and  crimes,  for  the  lack  of  a  father's  stern  and  digni 
fied  commands. 

But  there  was  one  feature  of  little  James's  charac 
ter  which  will  account  for  his  final  triumph  under  all 
these  discouraging  circumstances  of  his  life.  His 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        57 

mother's  training,  his  inherited  disposition,  and  the 
habits  of  the  rather  remarkably  religious  neighbor 
hood  of  Orange  at  that  time,  kept  his  boyhood  life  in 
the  way  of  the  most  scrupulous  truthfulness.  He 
did  not  and  would  not  lie.  While  that  anchor  held, 
his  character  and  future  were  safe.  No  boy  or  man 
can  be  selfish,  self-indulgent,  or  lazy,  without  being 
dishonest.  He  cannot  steal,  nor  cheat,  nor  play 
truant,  nor  indulge  in  vicious  habits,  unless  he  will 
lie.  Absolute  truthfulness  and  a  useless  or  vicious 
life  are  incompatible  and  impossible. 

A  traditional  incident,  illustrating  his  love  of 
truth,  is  related  of  him,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
exact  in  its  details,  yet  which  is  an  apt  illustration 
of  his  whole  character  in  that  early  day.  His  uncle, 
Thomas  Garfield,  lived  three  or  four  miles  from  his 
mother's  house,  and  the  road  led  through  a  lonely 
country,  a  part  of  which  was  thickly  wooded.  It 
often  happened  that  he  was  sent  on  errands,  to  and 
fro,  over  this  road.  One  evening,  while  he  was  at 
his  uncle's,  there  came  up  a  sudden  shower  which 
turned  into  a  storm,  and  darkness  came  on  suddenly. 
He  had  probably  heard  the  usual  ghost  and  Indian 
stones  which  terrified  the  youth  of  his  time  and  was 
somewhat  timid.  He  disliked  to  traverse  the  road 
alone  in  the  night,  yet  he  felt  that  he  must  go  home. 
His  cousins  and  aunt  tried  to  persuade  him  to  stay 
all  night,  but  he  would  not:  He  started  boldly  out 
into  the  night.  It  was  wet,  cold,  and  pitchy  dark. 
The  wind  groaned  among  the  maples,  and  the  great 
beech  trees  cracked  and  creaked  ominously.  It  was 


58      THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

too  much  for  his  boyish  courage,  and,  after  going  a 
half  mile,  he  turned  back. 

But  on  reaching  his  uncle's  house  he  felt  ashamed 
of  his  weakness  and  determined  to  start  again. 

"I  would  not  try  it  again,  James,"  said  a  work 
man. 

44  But  mother  will  worry  about  me,"  said  the  little 
fellow. 

"  O  stay  all  night,  and  tell  her  the  mud  was  too 
deep  to  get  home,"  said  the  workman. 

"  I  shall  not  tell  her  that,  and  I  won't  tell  her  I 
was  afraid,"  said  James.  And  off  he  started  a  second 
time.  This  time  he  went  bravely  through  the  dark 
woods  to  his  home,  and  it  may  be  that  his  mother 
never  knew  how  much  he  endured  that  night  rather 
than  tell  her  a  falsehood  or  confess  that  he  was 
afraid. 

That  tradition  is  in  accord  with  many  others  and 
shows  that  truthfulness  requires  a  brave  spirit  and  a 
self-sacrificing  life.  The  truth  was  his  good  angel. 
It  kept  him  from  everything  which  he  would  be 
ashamed  to  confess.  It  overcame  his  indisposition 
to  labor.  It  guided  him  safely  over  the  dangerous 
bar  of  a  petted  boyhood.  Inasmuch  as  he  was  more 
true  in  his  speech  and  actions  than  other  boys,  just 
that  much  was  his  boyhood  nobler  and  more  promis 
ing  than  theirs,  and  no  more  In  all  other  things  he 
was  like  the  multitude.  The  determination  and  habit 
of  speaking  the  simple  truth  was  a  badge  of  honor, 
more  honorable  and  more  respected  than  the  kingly 
ermine  on  the  heraldic  shields  of  his  ancestors. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        59 

Wild  and  rough  oftentimes,  rude  in  his  sports 
and  awkward  in  the  presence  of  visitors,  often  in 
rags  and  dust  he  had  carelessly  made,  with  no  other 
title  or  claim  to  respect  and  no  other  capital  to  begin 
life  upon,  he  found  in  his  truth-telling  an  infallible 
guide  to  nobility  and  human  greatness.  This  was 
the  only  very  remarkable  thing  about  his  young  life, 
and  we  shall  see  how  curiously  and  surely  it  guided 
him  upward. 

Romances  have  been  constructed  about  the  boy 
hood  of  James,  in  which  he  has  figured  as  the  heroic 
representative  of  Ohio  boys.  But  the  dress  of  fiction 
adds  nothing  to  th'e  moral  of  his  noble  life.  He  was 
no  more  of  a  hero,  loved  his  books  no  better,  enjoyed 
hard  labor  no  more  than  the  hardy  boys  of  his  neigh 
borhood.  There  was  nothing  in  his  boyhood,  save 
that  single  characteristic  of  honesty  in  speech,  which 
could  be  said  to  be  indicative  of  superior  gifts. 

Fortunately  for  James,  his  uncle,  Amos  Boynton, 
had  a  heart  broad  enough  to  take  in  more  than  his 
own  family ;  and  the  uncle's  example,  precepts  and 
threats  were  most  efficacious  in  keeping  the  children 
of  the  Garfield  family  decorous  and  respectful.  James 
was  not  always  good-natured  nor  always  in  the  mood 
for  immediate  obedience  to  his  mother's  commands. 
But  when  he  was  inclined  to  mischief  or  willfulness, 
his  mother  had  but  to  say,  "  I  will  tell  Uncle  Amos," 
arid  he  was  as  meek  as  the  lambs. 

Uncle  Amos  was  a  valuable  man  in  the  commu 
nity,  and  appears  to  have  had,  in  his  eccentric  way, 
a  most  excellent  influence  over  the  young  people  of 


6O         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

Orange  township.  He  was  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Disciples'  Church,  loved  the  Bible,  and  despised  lazy 
or  dishonest  people.  He  took  an  active  part  in  or 
ganizing  and  sustaining  local  lyceum  debates  among 
the  young  men  at  the  school-houses.  The  singing- 
schools,  spelling  matches,  out-door  games,  and  re 
ligious  gatherings  had  his  personal  assistance,  and 
his  encouragement  and  advice  had  a  great  influence 
with  James,  who  stood  in  most  reverential  awe  of  his 
uncle. 

His  early  school-days  were  not  remarkably  brill 
iant,  nor  did  he  particularly  distinguish  himself  at 
that  time,  in  any  direction,  beyond  the  majority  of 
his  school-fellows.  He  possessed  a  good  memory, 
and  made  reasonable  progress  in  such  rudiments  as 
were  taught  in  the  log  school-houses  of  that  time. 
He  loved  to  hear  his  mother  read  poetry,  and  com 
mitted  many  verses  to  memory.  His  nature  was 
poetical,  and  he  loved  to  wander  alone  in  the  fields 
and  woods,  and  in  imagination  act  the  part  of  some 
of  the  poetical  characters  of  which  he  had  heard. 
When  he  was  old  enough  to  read  story  books  for 
himself,  he  found,  somewhere,  the  "  Pirates,  Own 
Book,"  "Tales  of  the  Sea,"  "Indian  Stories,"  and 
other  kindred  volumes,  in  which  he  seems  to  have 
been  greatly  interested.  Pet  calves  and  sheep  were 
named  by  him  after  some  favorite  hero  or  heroine 
mentioned  in  romance,  and  even  the  rocks  and  high 
lands  came  in  for  a  share  in  the  titles  of  nobility  he 
conferred. 

The  apple  orchard  of  one  hundred  trees,  which 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        6 1 

his  father  planted  and  which  had  already  spread 
wide  its  fruitful  branches,  and  in  the  shade  of  which 
he  passed  the  happiest  days  of  his  boyhood,  was  to 
his  active  imagination  an  army  of  warriors,  or  a  host 
of  Indians.  Every  tree  soon  had  its  name  by  which 
it  was  known,  not  only  to  him,  but  to  all  his  play 
mates  in  the  neighborhood.  Each  tree  was  named 
after  some  noted  Indian  warrior,  or  after  some  old 
saint ;  or,  as  was  occasionally  the  case,  for  the  lack 
of  other  names,  he  applied  those  of  neighbors, 
preachers  and  school  teachers.  He  appears  to  have 
felt  no  lonesomeness  when  left  to  himself,  but  was 
able  to  imagine  the  presence  of  others  with  him,  or 
himself  to  be  in  some  distant  and  attractive  place, 
and  "was  never  less  alone  than  when  by  himself." 

Very  early  in  his  life  some  story  of  the  sea  awak 
ened  his  keen  interest  in  the  sailors'  lives,  and  he 
formed  many  plans  concerning  a  visit  to  the  great 
ocean,  to  be  carried  out  when  he  should  become  a 
man.  He  dreamed  of  the  surging  billows  and  longed 
for  a  sight  of  the  white-fringed  breakers.  He  would 
some  day  be  a  sailor.  He  would  climb  to  the  top  of 
the  masts.  He  would  one  day  command  a  man-of- 
war.  He  would  fight  battles  and  win  victories  on 
every  ocean  and  sea.  He  was  often  overheard  re 
peating  the  commands  of  the  heroic  captains,  about 
whom  he  had  read,  and  with  a  stern  and  loud  voice 
he  often  bade  his  imaginary  men  to  "  clear  the  deck 
for  action." 

He  early  imbibed  a  love  for  the  Bible,  which  he 
found  was  always  his  mother's  dearest  companion. 


62         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

Its  warriors,  prophets,  saints  and  apostles  were  char 
acters  as  real  and  familiar  to  his  active  imagination 
as  were  the  people  he  had  actually  met.  In  his 
work  and  at  his  play  he  saw  and  felt  more  than  some 
other  boys,  because  of  this  power  to  call  about  him 
imaginary  characters. 

It  may  have  been  this  habit  of  thinking  on  distant 
things  that  caused  him,  as  a  workman,  to  meet  with 
so  many  accidents. 

He  found  much  comfort  in  the  society  of  a  little 
black  dog,  which  seemed  to  understand  the  language 
and  wishes  of  James,  like  a  human  being.  The  dog 
was  considered  a  wonder  by  the  other  boys.  For 
several  years  the  little  creature  was  seen  with  James 
at  all  his  work,  whether  chopping  wood,  riding  the 
horses  for  the  plow,  or  going  to  the  pastures  for  the 
neighbors'  cows. 

To  all  the  beasts  of  the  farm  he  was  a  kind  and 
patient  instructor,  teaching  them  many  curious  and 
useful  things.  In  all  this  he  was,  however,  under 
his  mother's  careful  oversight,  and  most  faithfully 
did  she  watch  over  the  "four  saplings,"  of  which 
James  was  the  youngest,  and  which  her  husband,  on 
his  death-bed,  had  said  he  must  leave  to  her  care. 
For  him  she  felt  and  exhibited  that  special  solicitude 
which  mothers  usually  feel  for  their  youngest  child. 
She  was  determined  that  he  should  avail  himself  of 
the  school  privileges  during  the  few  winter  months 
in  which  it  was  held,  and  she  labored  very  hard  to 
supply  him  with  the  necessary  clothes  and  books. 
The  teachers  of  the  school  parted  with  Mrs.  Garfield 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  63 

in  the  spring  with  great  reluctance,  for  the  school- 
house  being  on  one  corner  of  her  farm,  they  were 
often  obliged  to  seek  favors  from  her,  and  thus  be 
came  familiar  friends.  At  no  place  in  all  the  district 
was  the  teacher  more  welcome  than  at  Mrs.  Garfield's 
cabin,  and  although  the  loft  in  her  home  was  perhaps 
more  lonely,  and  the  bed  less  easy  than  many  others, 
they  were  glad  when  the  time  came  in  their  "  board 
ing  around,"  to  go  to  her  abode.  Many  years  after 
wards  they  told  of  her  love  for  learning,  and  of  her 
desire  that  her  children  should  have  a  thorough 
education. 

James  was  favored  with  opportunities  for  reading 
which  the  other  members  of  that  industrious  family 
did  not  get.  It  was  usually  accidental,  however. 
He  was  a  careless,  awkward  boy  in  the  use  of  tools 
in  his  work,  and  was  often  laid  up  by  self-inflicted 
wounds.  He  cut  his  feet  with  his  axe  or  scythe. 
He  wrenched  his  back  by  the  fall  of  a  fence  rail 
upon  him.  He  fell  from  the  barn  upon  a  pile  of 
wood.  .So  that  while  he  was  not  perhaps  more  care 
less  or  awkward  than  boys  of  his  age  usually  are,  yet 
he  was  more  often  confined  to  the  house  as  a  result 
of  accidents,  and  the  hours  of  his  retirement  he 
most  earnestly  employed  in  studying  all  the  books 
they  had  in  the  house,  and  all  he  could  borrow  of 
the  neighbors.  It  was  to  his  credit  that  he  used  his 
books  with  great  care,  and  any  neighbor  was  willing 
to  intrust  their  volumes  to  him.  His  neighbors  say 
that  he  learned  much  more  in  his  early  days  by  read 
ing  history  and  studying  stories  of  scientific  discov- 


64         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

ery  out  of  school  than  he  ever  gained  from  teachers. 
He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  debates  and  literary 
exercises  which  were  often  held  on  winter  evenmgs 
at  the  school-house  ;  and  it  is  said  that,  as  a  critic, 
he  was  dreaded  by  some  of  the  old  men  before  he 
was  ten  years  of  age 

In  1842,  when  he  was  about  eleven  years  old,  the 
boys  in  Orange,  by  the  advice  of  "Uncle  Amos," 
organized  a  lyceum  of  their  own,  and  it  was  the  first 
place  of  the  kind  in  which  James  ever  ventured  to 
speak. 

His  speech  was  not  preserved,  even  in  tradition 
But  the  speech  of  the  last  disputant  has  never  ceased 
to  be  a  funny  circumstance  in  the  minds  of  the  old 
people  who  heard  of  it  at  the  time.  The  subject  for 
discussion  contained  a  clause  in  which  it  was  resolved 
that  navigation  was  of  superior  importance  to  some 
other  branch  of  human  industry.  The  young  orator 
"  supposed  a  case  "  where  a  meal  of  victuals  awaited 
a  hungry,  drunken  man,  but  he  could  not  get  to  them. 
"  Now,"  said  the  speaker,  "  that  man  is  too  drunk  to 
navigate  himself.  He  will  have  no  supper.  Now, 
of  what  use  are  all  the  beans,  potatoes,  sausages, 
pork  and  doughnuts  to  a  man  who  can't  navigate?" 
That  speech  was  conclusive,  and  by  a  unanimous 
vote  it  was  seriously  declared  that  it  was  of  the  high 
est  importance  that  men  be  able  "to  navigate." 

These  debates  quickened  James's  desire  for  read 
ing,  and  in  less  than  two  years  he  had  read  and  re 
membered  so  much  concerning  the  current  topics  of 
lyceum  debates  that  he  successfully  held  his  own  as 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       65 

a  "  principal "  debater  with  the  old  men.  Those 
evenings  at  the  lyceum  were  the  happiest,  perhaps, 
in  his  youthful  life.  It  was  an  escape  for  an  hour  or 
two  from  his  hard  and  incessant  toil.  It  was  a  place 
where  he  knew  his  mother  was  proud  of  him,  and 
where  even  "  Uncle  Amos "  was  inclined  to  be 
more  sparing  of  his  critical  suggestions  than  usual. 
It  was  the  opening  of  a  new  life  to  the  poor  boy,  and 
was  suggestive  of  possible  achievements  which,  until 
then,  he  had  considered  wholly  beyond  his  reach. 
How  many  of  our  American  statesmen  can  trace  the 
beginning  of  their  career  to  the  lyceum  in  the  coun 
try  school-house !  On  the  popularity  of  that  humble 
and  crude  institution,  the  safety  of  the  nation  has 
often  rested. 

During  his  training  in  those  evening  schools  of 
debate,  he  searched  the  neighborhood  and  drew  upon 
distant  relatives  for  books  and  papers.  He  put  his 
soul  into  the  work  ;  and  with  an  eager  longing  looked 
forward  to  each  debate  with  ever  increasing  interest. 

There  was  a  high  ledge  of  broken  rocks  in  the 
woods,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  his  home, 
where  one  large  shaft  of  rock  rose  considerably  above 
its  larger  neighbors.  To  the  top  of  that  rock  James 
used  often  to  climb,  and  from  its  summit  deliver  to 
the  rocks  and  trees  around  his  prepared  addresses 
or  impromptu  harangues.  The  trees  and  stones  were 
an  audience  to  him,  and  in  his  imagination  they  list 
ened,  sighed,  and  applauded,  as,  with  excited  tones, 
he  approached  his  peroration.  He  called  that  rock 
his  pulpit ;  and  never  in  the  sacred  desk  or  in  the  halls 


66        THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

of  the  national  councils  found  he  a  place  in  which 
there  seemed  to  him  such  necessity  for  dignity,  for 
grammatical  accuracy,  or  for  stirring  illustration,  as 
on  that  forest  rostrum  among  the  aged  maples.  Where 
will  the  American  country  youths  find  another  such 
an  audience  as  they  saw  in  the  waving  corn,  the  rows 
of  potatoes,  the  forest  trees,  or  the  astonished  herds, 
in  those  youthful  days  when  the  spirit  of  oratory 
first  touched  their  lips  with  its  inspiring  fire  ? 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        6/ 


CHAPTER   V. 

YOUTHFUL  OCCUPATIONS 

EARLY  MATURITY.  —  BOILING  SALTS.  — A  MAN'S  WORK  AT  HARVESTING 

—  AMBITION  TO  BE  A  CARPENTER.  —  SELF-SACRIFICES  OF  THOMAS. 

—  THE  NEW  FRAME  HOUSE  AT  ORANGE.  —  LEARNING  THE  TRADE 

—  OUT  OF  WORK.  —  CHOPPING  WOOD.  —  WISHES  TO  BE  A  SAILOR.  — 
VISITS  A  SHIP  AT  CLEVELAND. —  ABANDONS  THE  IDEA  OF  BEING  A 
SAILOR.  —  FINDS  EMPLOYMENT  ON  THE  OHIO  CANAL.  —  A  DRIVER 
BOY.  —  7EVER  AND  AGUE. —A   QUARREL.  — AN  ACCIDENT.  —  GOES 
HOME  TO  HIS  MOTHER. 

THE  years  of  1844  and  1845  included  a  period  of 
great  uncertainty  with  James.  His  hard  work  and 
the  needs  of  life,  felt  by  him  unusually  early,  had 
given  to  his  mind  a  somewhat  premature  develop 
ment.  He  possessed  a  tough,  awkward  body, and 
features  which  were  not  very  prepossessing.  But  his 
mind  was  bright  and  mature.  He  labored  very  hard. 
For  a  few  months  he  found  employment  in  "  boiling 
salts,"  which,  in  that  early  day,  was  made  moder 
ately  profitable  by  the  presence  of  immense  quanti 
ties  of  ashes  left  in  the  clearings.  The .  process  of 
leaching  the  ashes  and  extracting  the  salts  by  boiling 
the  liquid  was  a  very  dirty  and  unpleasant  business, 

The  boy  was  often  as  black  with  soot  as  the  follow 
ers  of  the  kindred  trade  of  charcoal  burning,  and  his 
clothing  was  heavy  with  ashes  and  smoke.  In  this, 
as  in  every  other  undertaking,  he  was  determined  to 


68         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

excel,  and  began  early  in  the  morning  and  worked 
late  at  night.  Another  portion  of  that  period  he 
spent  in  chopping  wood,  being  paid  by  the  cord.  In 
this  he  did  a  mature  man's  work,  and  received, 
for  the  first  time,  a  man's  wages.  He  also  en 
gaged  himself  in  harvesting,  and  swung  the  scythe 
through  the  grass,  the  sickle  in  the  grain,  and  the 
rake  over  the  meadow,  the  equal  of  the  eldest.  But 
the  work  was  so  exhausting  that  he  often  heartily 
wished  that  he  could  see  some  other  way  of  securing 
an  honest  living. 

One  day  he  saw  a  carpenter,  with  saw  and  chisel, 
at  work  framing  a  barn,  and  it  occurred  to  him  that 
the  trade  of  a  carpenter  would  suit  him  better  than 
the  ceaseless  drudgery  of  a  pioneer  farmer's  life. 
He  had  shown  some  adaptability  for  that  trade  in 
the  repairs  he  had  from  time  to  time  made  on  his 
mother's  house  and  barn,  and  in  the  toys  which  he 
had  ingeniously  constructed.  On  consulting  with 
his  mother,  he  decided  to  lear-n  the  carpenter's  trade. 
But  no  opportunity  presented  itself  just  at  that  time, 
and  he  worked  on  in  his  heavy  labor,  waiting  for 
some  way  to  open  to  the  lighter  occupation.  Thus, 
at  fifteen  years  of  age,  we  find  him  an  uncultured 
country  boy,  with  no  acquaintance  with  the  world 
beyond  the  clearings  and  cabins  of  that  new  land. 
He  appears  to  have  had  no  thought  or  ambition 
above  that  of  being  able  to  earn  a  living.  He  had 
given  up  attending  the  school  in  his  district,  in  which 
he  had  made  good  progress,  and  considered  his  edu 
cation  complete,  as  far  as  school-books  were  con- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        69 

cerned.  Certainly,  his  prospects  for  a  place  among 
the  learned  of  the  nation  could  scarcely  have  been 
more  discouraging  than  it  was  then.  What  had 
chopping  wood,  boiling  salts,  digging  ditches  in  the 
meadows,  and  milking  cows,  to  do  with  refinement 
and  intellectual  cultivation  ?  However,  the  industry 
of  the  family  was  such  that  they  began  to  accumu 
late  a  little  fund,  with  which  they  purposed  to  pur 
chase  the  materials  to  construct  a  frame  house. 

They  began  laying  up  pennies  for  that  object,  and 
to  that  small  fund  added  dollars,  and  as  the  children 
grew  older  and  earned  more,  the  prospect  grew 
brighter.  At  last,  Thomas,  whose  fatherly  interest 
in  the  family  was  truly  heroic,  secured  a  contract  for 
clearing  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Michigan,  and  chop 
ping  the  wood.  The  profits  of  his  labor  in  that  un 
dertaking  were  such  that,  after  paying  all  his  expenses, 
the  overjoyed  young  man  was  able  to  come  back  to 
the  home  he  had  missed  so  much,  and  present  to  his 
mother  the  sum  of  eighty  dollars.  That  amount 
having  been  added  to  the  building  fund,  they  felt 
able  to  undertake  the  enterprise,  for  which  they  had 
so  long  planned. 

When  they  considered  the  matter  of  securing  a 
carpenter,  to  make  the  frame  for  their  new  house, 
the  opportunity  for  James  to  learn  the  trade  seemed 
to  present  itself.  It  was  in  the  construction  of  this 
little  house  of  four  rooms,  near  their  log  cabin,  that 
James  performed  his  first  work  at  the  carpenter's 
trade.  The  carpenter  under  whose  tutelage  James 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  good  practical  knowledge, 


7O         THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

was  Jedediah  Hubbell  of  Chagrin  Falls,  and 
throughout  a  long  life  he  was  the  staunch  friend  of 
his  former  apprentice. 

The  year  1846,  when  James  was  fifteen  years  old, 
was  an  eventful  one  in  the  life  of  the  inexperienced 
boy.  They  had  a  new  house  and  he  had  entered 
upon  a  new  trade.  Henceforth,  he  would  be  a  car 
penter,  and  his  greatest  pride  was  to  be  found  in  the 
drawing  of  the  shave  and  pushing  the  plane.  %  That 
was  a  step  upward.  He  could  earn  higher  wages, 
and  it  was  less  laborious  than  farming  or  clearing 
away  timber.  Yet,  he  never  became  such  an  expert 
at  the  trade  as  to  deserve  any  especial  praise.  With 
the  opportunities  he  had,  with  the  few  tools  he  could 
secure,  and  with  employment  only  on  the  cheap  farm 
houses  and  barns  of  that  day,  it  is  no  surprise  that 
he  was  an  indifferent  workman.  His  work  was  al 
ways  carefully  done,  and  gave  the  satisfaction  that 
honest  work  gives  to  honest  people.  But  in  that 
trade  he  exhibited  no  striking  genius,  and  con 
structed  no  buildings  which  would  now  be  consid 
ered  monuments  of  art  or  of  remarkable  skill. 

He  could  not  always  find  work  as  a  carpenter,  and 
was  frequently,  in  the  following  years,  compelled  to 
leave  the  plane,  and  take  up  the  hoe  and  shovel. 
Turning  his  hand  to  every  kind  of  work  that  a  young 
man  could  do,  he  found  life  rather  hard,  and  his  in 
crease  in  knowledge  and  property  very  slow. 

He  had  not  found  his  level.  He  began  to  feel  it 
severely  when,  after  two  years  of  toil,  he  found 
himself  with  but  little  money  left  with  which  to 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       /I 

open  another  season.  At  one  time  he  became 
utterly  discouraged,  and  could  see  nothing  before 
him  but  the  same  poverty  and  the  same  arduous 
toil.  To  be  dissatisfied  with  one's  trade  or  em 
ployment  is  not  always  an  evidence  of  a  fitness  for 
any  other  station,  although  it  often  leads  to  the  ac 
complishment  of  higher  tasks.  James,  however,  was 
not  so  much  dissatisfied  with  his  trade  or  work  as 
he  was  with  the  unprofitableness  of  it,  owing  to  the 
uncertainty  of  remunerative  employment  during  the 
entire  year. 

At  one  of  these  seasons  of  uncertainty,  the  old 
longing  to  be  a  sailor  returned  with  its  pictures  of  the 
ocean's  grandeur  and  sublimity ;  and  for  a  time  the  old 
spirit  of  his  early  boyhood  was  upon  him.  Homesick 
for  the  sea !  Yearning  for  adventure !  Wishing  to  visit 
the  strange  lands  of  which  the  story  books  had  told ! 
In  this  restless  mood,  he  determined  to  find  some 
way  in  which  to  secure  a  place  as  a  sailor  on  some 
Atlantic  ship.  But  the  offer  of  a  job  of  chopping 
one  hundred  cords  of  wood  made  to  him  by  his  uncle, 
Thomas  Garfield,  called  his  attention  away  for  a 
while,  only  to  make  it  to  return  with  greater  deter 
mination. 

The  woodland  where  he  worked  for  his  Uncle 
Thomas,  was  situated  near  Newberg,  and  not  very 
far  from  Lake  Erie,,  and  often,  during  his  stay, 
he  walked  over  to  look  out  upon  the  changing  hues 
of  that  ocean  of  fresh  water.  Once  in  a  while  he 
saw  stately  ships  enter  the  harbor  and  furl  their 
sails,  and  his  heart  beat  fast  with  excited  ambi- 


/2         THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

tion.  Yet  he  purposed  not  to  be  a  sailor  on  so 
small  a  sea  as  Lake  Erie.  The  mightiest  oceans 
seemed  none  too  large  for  him  ;  and  the  idea  of  sail 
ing  on  the  lake,  was  unworthy  of  his  ambition. 

Yet  it  occurred  to  him,  as  he  chopped  and  pon 
dered,  —  and  chopping  wood  is  a  great  promoter  .if 
thought,  —  that  he  could  learn  something  of  shipping 
by  a  trip  on  the  lake  and  thus  make  more  certain  his 
employment  in  some  Atlantic  port.  Hence,  with  a 
wisdom  beyond  his  years,  he  resolved  to  try  his  hand 
at  the  business  nearer  home  ;  and  if  he  liked  the 
work,  to  seek  some  seaport  as  an  experienced  hand. 

When  the  last  stroke  of  the  axe  had  been  given, 
and  the  wood  was  all  firmly  and  evenly  piled  for 
measurement,  he  started  secretly  and  alone  to  Cleve 
land  to  see  what  chance  he  might  find  to  ship  as  a 
deck-hand,  or  common  sailor.  He  had  heard  that 
sailors  were  wanted,  and  had  no  doubt  of  his 
ability  to  find  a  place.  Hence,  with  considerable 
confidence  the  awkward  wood-chopper  searched 
along  the  wharves  for  a  vessel  of  such  dimensions  as 
would  be  suitable  for  his  purpose.  At  last  he  found 
one  large  enough  and  with  sails  enough  to  be  called 
a  "stately,  gallant  ship,"  and  he  stepped  on  the  deck 
from  the  wharf,  alongside  which  the  vessel  was 
moored.  Several  rough-looking  men  were  at  work 
washing  the  deck  and  splicing  the  rigging. 

"  Where  is  the  captain  of  this  ship  ? "  asked  he  of 
a  sailor. 

The  sailor  made  no  answer,  but,  with  a  queer 
expression  of  countenance,  stared  at  the  intruder. 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  /3 

"Can  you  tell  me  where  I  can  see  the  captain?" 
asked  he  of  another,  The  sailor  with  a  motion  of 
the  hand  indicated  that  the  captain  was  below,  and 
spoke  not  a  word. 

"  Rather  strict  discipline  I  should  say,"  thought 
James,  as  he  approached  the  hatchway. 

Suddenly  the  captain  appeared  at  the  hatches,  who 
seemed  at  first  astonished  to  see  a  stranger  aboard 
his  ship.  He  was  almost  too  drunk  to  walk  and 
James  felt  anxious  lest  the  besotted,  bloated  wretch 
should  fall  backward  into  the  hold, 

"I  would  like  to  speak  to  the  captain,"  said  James 
to  the  drunken  man. 

For  a  stranger  to  board  his  ship  without  permis 
sion  was  evidently  no  light  offense  in  the  eyes  of 
the  captain.  But  to  venture  to  speak  to  him,  and 
especially  to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  he  was  the 
captain,  was  too  great  an  insult  to  be  endured.  The 
captain's  wrath  was  uncontrollable. 

"What  in  the are  you  here  for  ?  "  yelled  the 

inebriate.  "  Get  out  of  this  yeare  craft,  you  sneakin' 
thief!" 

There  was  not  a  fight,  but  if  the  captain  had  been 
sober  and  had  indulged  in  such  abuse,  profanity  and 
gesticulations,  James  would  have  picked  up  the  rum- 
soaked  tyrant  and  ducked  him  in  the  harbor.  For 
James  had  inherited  a  powerful  frame,  and  had 
increased  his  natural  strength  greatly  by  hard  work. 

But  he  swallowed  his  wrath,  and,  leaving  the 
drunken  wretch  to  vent  his  rage  on  some  poor  sailor, 
he  walked  away  with  nearly  all  the  poetry  of  a  sail- 


74         THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

or's  life  oozing  swiftly  out  of  his  brain  and  heart 
It  was  a  great  shock.  It  made  him  feel  as  if  he  had 
met  with  a  great  loss.  For  he  never  again  encour 
aged  the  dreams  of  a  sailor's  happy  life.  His  long 
ing  for  the  sea  was  never  wholly  overcome,  but  his 
views  of  its  hardships  underwent  an  entire  change. 

In  a  discouraged  mood  he  sought  his  uncle's  house 
with  a  hope,  perhaps,  of  securing  another  job  of  work 
in  the  woods.  There  he  learned  that  his  cousins 
were  soon  to  start  out  with  a  canal  boat,  owned  by 
his  uncle,  to  bring  coal  from  the  mines  to  Cleve 
land,  on  the  Ohio  Canal.  Hearing  of  no  other 
employment,  he  asked  the  privilege  of  going  with  the 
boat  in  some  capacity.  The  only  place  they  felt  he 
was  capable  of  filling  was  a  driver  boy  to  lead  the 
horses  along  the  bank  of  the  canal,  as  they  dragged 
the  boat  toward  its  destination.  It  seems  that  it 
never  occurred  to  James  that,  by  taking  such  employ 
ment  on  the  canal,  he  was  throwing  himself  directly 
into  the  company  and  into  the  work  which  his  father 
so  much  disliked,  and  to  avoid  which  he  had  taken 
his  children  into  the  forest. 

He  soon  found  it  a  calling  for  which  he  was  not 
fitted,  or  at  least  one  which  such  a  spirit  as  his  could 
not  long  endure. 

He  never  complained  of  his  treatment  by  his 
employer  or  superiors.  The  captain,  Jonathan 
Myers,  and  his  wife,  were  very  favorably  inclined 
toward  him  because  of  his  strict  adherence  to  the 
truth.  The  canal  boys  were  notorious  for  their  long 
yarns,  and  often  preferred  to  tell  a  lie  when  it  was 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        75 

much  more  for  their  interest  to  tell  the  truth.  Hence, 
his  eccentric  adherence  to  the  facts  made  him  unpop 
ular  with  them.  He  was  clearly  out  of  his  place. 
He  felt  it,  and  told  the  kind  captain  that  he  should 
not  stay  long.  He  had  agreed  to  stay  three  months 
at  ten  dollars  per  month,  and,  as  long  as  he  could, 
he  faithfully  kept  his  contract.  But  the  long,  monot 
onous  tramps  beside  the  horses,  or  the  dull  stops  to 
await  the  passage  of  crowded  locks  gave  him  consid 
erable  time  to  think.  He  knew  that  his  mother  had 
always  desired  to  have  him  in  some  way  obtain  a 
liberal  education.  He  felt  keenly  the  fact  that  he 
was  engaged  in  a  calling  which  had  not  her  approval. 
The  cursing,  fighting  and  low  conversation  among 
the  men  were  distasteful  to  him.  Once  he  was  com 
pelled  to  defend  himself  from  an  attack  of  an  over 
bearing  bully,  and,  it  is  said  that  James  grappled 
with  his  opponent  like  a  lion,  and  with  dangerous 
precipitation  sent  the  fellow  rolling  into  the  bottom 
of  a  flat  boat.  Men  and  boys  were  respected  there 
according  to  their  strength  of  muscle  and  powers  of 
endurance.  These  he  possessed  in  an  eminent 
degree,  and  was  seldom  involved  in  any  dispute. 

Near  the  end  of  his  term  of  three  months,  he  was 
offered  a  position  as  steersman  with  an  advance  of 
wages.  He  had  often  been  called  upon  to  relieve 
the  steersman,  and  his  judgment  was  so  mature,  and 
his  skill  so  apparent,  that  the  captain's  wife  advised 
him  to  make  it  his  profession  for  life.  She  urged 
the  captain  to  secure  the  place  for  him,  because 
she  "  felt  much  safer  when  Jim  was  at  the  helm." 


76         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

But  James  could  not  be  persuaded  to  make  a  new 
contract,  nor  did  the  large-hearted  captain  urge  the 
matter.  He  said : 

"Jim  is  too  good  a  boy  to  stick  to  the  canal.  He 
loves  his  books  too  well  to  be  confined  to  this  hard 
life." 

It  was  during  this  period  that  he  met  Dr.  J. 
P.  Robinson,  a  physician  and  preacher,  who  has 
been  ever  since  that  time  a  devoted  friend.  The 
doctor  was  an  able  and  talkative  man,  whose  good 
impulses  were  ever  finding  vent  in  some  unexpected 
deed  of  kindness,  and  he  had  a  great  liking  for  James 
from  the  time  of  their  first  meeting.  He  advised 
him  to  find  some  place  where  he  could  work  for 
his  board  and  go  to  school,  and  told  him  of  the  great 
things  he  might  do,  and  the  great  name  he  might 
gain  by  persevering  in  the  attempt  to  obtain  learn 
ing.  The  advice  was  not  lost  upon  James,  and  he 
secretly  resolved  to  find  a  place,  if  possible,  where  he 
could  follow  the  doctor's  advice. 

Near  the  close  of  his  three  months'  engagement, 
he  began  to  be  greatly  afflicted  with  the  fever  and 
ague,  which  was  a  sad  enemy  of  all  the  canal  boat 
men.  The  disease  increased  in  virulence  with  alarm 
ing  rapidity.  His  duties  in  caring  for  the  careful 
passage  of  the  boat,  when  meeting  another,  often 
required  him  to  wade  in  the  water,  and  sometimes 
he  ventured  in  waist-deep.  Such  frequent  baths, 
with  the  subsequent  chill  of  the  wet  clothing  which 
he  wore  until  it  was  dry,  greatly  aggravated  the 
disease. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       77 

One  day  after  he  became  so  weak  that  he  could 
scarcely  perform  his  work,  while  he  was  engaged  in 
fastening  a  rope  at  the  stern  of  the  boat,  he  reached 
over  the  side  to  lift  the  rope  from  the  water.  He 
did  not  realize  how  weak  he  had  become.  He  could 
not  lift  the  rope.  He  tugged  at  it  for  a  few  moments, 
and  then,  while  attempting  to  get  a  firmer  hold,  lost, 
his  balance  and  fell  headlong  into  the  water. 

He  had  never  learned  to  swim  and  he  was  in  great 
danger  of  drowning.  Fortunately,  the  rope  which 
was  the  cause  of  the  accident  lay  in  the  water  within 
reach,  and  he  had  the  presence  of  mind  to  clutch  it, 
while  the  hands  on  the  boat  pulled  him  out.  The 
shock  and  the  chill  of  the  cold  water  were  more  than 
his  weak  frame  could  endure.  All  the  symptoms  of 
a  dangerous  fever  followed,  and  he  determined  to 
hasten  home.  In  his  journey  he  was  assisted  as  far 
as  Newberg  by  friends,  but  from  that  place,  while 
burning  with  fever  and  dizzy  with  the  ague,  he 
walked  determinedly  home  to  his  mother's  cottage. 


/8         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EFFORTS  TO  OBTAIN  AN  EDUCATION. 

SLOW  RECOVERY.  —  MEETING  WITH  MR.  BATES.  —  A  PRIVATE  TUTOR. 
—  DETERMINED  BEGINNING.  —  THE  GEAUGA  SEMINARY.  —  ESTI 
MATES  THE  COST  OF  A  TERM  AT  SCHOOL.  —  EARNS  A  SMALL  SUM  TO 
START  WITH.  —  IHS  MOTHER'S  HELP.  —  BOARDING  HIMSELF  AT 
CHESTER.  —  PUDDING  AND  MOLASSES.  —  THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  A 
HEALTHY  BODY.  —  TEACHING  SCHOOL.  —  VACATION  WORK.  —  IN 
TEREST  IN  RELIGION.  —  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST. — RELIGIOUS 
PERSECUTION.  —  TRUSTWORTHY  WORK.  —  A  GOOD  NAME. 

FOR  weeks  after  his  return  to  his  home,  he  was 
confined  to  his  bed  by  the  fever.  He  was  very  sick. 
The  disease  was  dangerous.  The  mercurial  medicines 
prescribed  appear  to  have  been  more  dangerous.  Yet 
after  a  few  weeks  he  began  slowly  to  recover,  notwith 
standing  the  depressing  effects  of  exhaustion,  ague 
and  calomel.  His  mother's  faithful  nursing  overcame 
both  the  disease  and  the  prescription. 

Again  he  was  given  an  opportunity  to  think.  He 
could  not  work,  play  or  read.  He  was  compelled  by 
his  inherited  disposition  to  study,  plan  and  dream  of 
the  future.  He  would  never  be  a  sailor.  That  was 
decided.  He  would  never  be  a  steersman  on  a  canal. 
That,  too,  was  settled.  He  could  not  content  him 
self  with  the  life  of  an  indifferent  carpenter,  or  even 
with  that  of  a  successful  wood-chopper.  What  would 
•he  do  after  he  had  regained  his  strength? 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  79 

This  question  was  of  untold  importance  to  him 
and  to  others.  Far  greater  than  he  then  dreamed. 
The  advice  of  Doctor  Robinson,  of  the  captain  of 
the  canal  boat,  and  the  prayers  of  his  mother  were 
not  lost  upon  him. 

His  Uncle  Amos,  who  frequently  came  to  his  bed 
side,  added  his  precepts  to  the  already  strong  evi 
dence  of  the  value  of  scholarship.  Lying  day  after 
day,  unable  to  move  in  his  bed  from  one  position 
owing  to  the  ague  cake  which  stubbornly  refused  to 
be  reduced,  he  revolved  in  his  mind  various  schemes 
for  securing  an  education.  He  had  nearly  decided 
to  try  again  the  district  school  and  swallow  his  pride, 
provided  a  teacher  was  engaged  who  could  help  him 
along,  and  had  determined  to  seek  the  advice  of 
some  suitable  person  about  the  books  he  might  need, 
when  a  most  fortunate  circumstance  happened  to 
give  direction  to  his  plans. 

Samuel  D.  Bates,  who  has  since  been  extensively 
known  and  revered  as  a  Baptist  preacher,  was 
employed  to  teach  school  in  Orange,  and  his  atten 
tion  was  called  to  the  studious  and  upright  life  which 
James  was  reputed  to  have  led.  He  was  especially 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  it  was  said  by  all, 
that,  through  the  poverty,  wants  and  temptations  of 
his  life,  James  had  not  swerved  from  the  honest 
truth.  Neither  wealth,  nor  fame,  nor  culture  could 
have  given  the  boy  such  a  claim  on  the  good  man's 
heart.  Mr.  Bates  sought  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Garfield  family  and  was  soon  on  intimate  terms  with 
James.  His  advice  to  him  was  clear  and  decided. 


8O         THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

He  told  him  that  many  boys  as  old  and  as  ignorant 
as  himself,  had  become  great  and  good  by  persever 
ance  and  industry.  Mr.  Bates  advised  him  to  fix  his 
mind  with  unflinching  determination  on  securing  a 
college  education.  Mrs.  Garfield,  with  unmeasured 
joy,  saw  the  influence  which  Mr.  Bates  was  having 
upon  James,  and,  with  delight,  saw  in  the  behavior 
and  plans  of  her  son,  that  he  had  set  his  face  rsso- 
lutely  toward  learning  and  its  accompanying  respon 
sibilities. 

On  his  recovery,  which  was  exceedingly  slow,  he 
abandoned  the  idea  of  attending  further  any  public 
school,  and  began  a  course  of  private  instruction, 
with  Mr.  Bates  for  his  teacher.  Under  the  impetus 
of  the  fresh  inspiration  which  James  had  obtained, 
his  progress  was  surprising  even  to  himself.  He 
had  feared  that  he  was  too  backward  to  enter  any 
academy  without  being  ashamed  of  himself,  but  with 
this  assistant,  he  would  soon  take  rank  with  the 
best. 

It  was  a  singular  sight  to  see  that  awkward  wood- 
chopper,  fresh  from  the  timber  lands  and  the  canal 
boat,  pouring  over  a  grammar  or  an  arithmetic. 
With  features  made  coarse  by  exposure,  and  pallid 
with  sickness,  with  his  stiff  hair,  which  the  sun  had 
made  crisp  and  wiry,  standing  up  in  a  great  tuft 
from  his  forehead,  and  with  hands  grim  and  horny, 
he  had  a  most  unpromising  appearance  as  a  candi 
date  for  literature  or  scholarship.  There  were  those 
who  regarded  the  attempt  which  James  was  making, 
as  a  very  foolish  effort  of  a  country  farm-hand  "  to 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        8 1 

get  above  his  business,"  and  even  said  that  it  would 
be  better  to  advise  the  boy  to  lay  up  his  money  and 
to  help  his  mother,  rather  than  waste  his  valuable 
time  in  useless  "  book  learning."  Even  Uncle  Amos, 
with  all  his  reverence  for  the  ministry,  and  admira 
tion  of  able  temperance  lecturers,  did  not  think  it 
worth  while  for  any  boy  of  such  plebian  stock  as  the 
neighborhood  of  Orange  was  supposed  to  produce, 
to  spend  his  time  in  securing  anything  more  than  a 
knowledge  of  the  "common  English  branches." 
But  James  had  made  an  unchangeable  resolution ; 
and,  with  a  keen  love  for  books,  and  a  heart  greatly 
moved  by  the  religious  interest  which  the  Church  of 
the  Disciples  was  awakening  in  that  community,  he 
stubbornly  compelled  every  hindering  circumstance 
to  bend  to  his  will. 

At  noon  by  his  carpenter's  bench,  at  evening  after 
his  work  on  his  mother's  farm,  he  sought  his  books 
and  solved  arithmetical  problems. 

At  this  time  there  stood  on  a  beautiful  eminence 
about  twelve  miles  from  Orange,  and  in  the  town  of 
Chester,  a  commodious,  three-story  wooden  building, 
used  for  a  school  of  a  higher  grade  than  the  common 
schools,  and  called  the  "Geauga  Seminary."  It  was 
in  one  of  the  most  charming  localities  in  Ohio. 
The  school  was  then  in  a  very  prosperous  condition, 
and  attracted  students  from  distant  parts  of  the  State. 
It  was  established  by  the  Freewill*  Baptists  as  a 
denominational  school,  and,  but  for  the  unfortunate 
religious  persecution  in  which  that  denomination  in 
Ohio  was  concerned  with  others,  it  would  have  con- 


82      THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

tinued,  doubtless,  in  their  hands,  and  might  long  ago 
have  been  a  college.  Its  standard  of  education  at 
that  time  was  not  higher  than  the  lower  classes  in 
the  high  schools  now.  But  that  was  a  great  advance 
upon  the  rudimentary  knowledge  imparted  in  the 
common  schools. 

Mr.  Bates  had  been  a  student  at  the  Geauga  Sem 
inary,  and  pointed  out  to  James  the  great  advantage 
it  would  be  to  him  if  he  could  manage  to  attend  that 
school.  At  the  time  the  suggestion  was  made  to 
James,  there  did  not  appear  to  be  any  probability  or 
possibility  of  his  being  able  to  attend  the  school. 
He  could  neither  spare  the  time  from  work,  nor  get 
the  money  with  which  to  pay  his  board.  Yet  his 
courage  abated  not  at  the  prospect.  His  mother 
agreed  with  him  that  somehow  and  in  some  way  he 
must  go.  All  his  family,  including  Thomas,  now 
grown  to  manhood,  and  his  sisters,  Mehitable  and 
Mary,  now  in  the  ranks  of  womanhood,  were  kindly 
disposed,  but  they  were- poor.  If  he  attended  the 
academy  he  must  depend  on  himself  and  his  mother. 

When  the  advantages  of  the  seminary  at  Chester 
began  to  be  discussed  in  the  community,  Uncle 
Amos  thought  that  it  might  be  well  to  permit  his 
sons  tb  attend  school  there,  provided  they  could  earn 
the  money,  as  James  must  do.  Long  and  anxious 
discussions  followed  in  both  families,  sometimes  in  a 
kind  of  joint*  convention,  and  sometimes  in  their 
separate  circles,  upon  the  ways  and  means  for 
obtaining  an  academic  education.  They  calculated 
the  cost  of  the  tuition,  then  estimated  how  much 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        83 

their  food  would  cost  if  they  had  no  luxuries  at  all 
and  boarded  themselves  on  the  very  cheapest  food, 
such  as  hasty  pudding,  and  corn  bread.  They  were 
compelled  to  add  the  cost  of  some  stout  cloth  for  a 
suit  of  clothes,  with  a  cap  and  a  pair  of  boots  for 
each.  How  provokingly  it  did  count  up !  How 
great  were  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  those  youn^ 
men! 

If  they  boarded  themselves,  how  many  dishes 
would  it  take,  how  many  knives  and  forks,  how  many 
towels,  and  how  many  kettles  ?  All  those  must  be 
borrowed  from  home  to  save  the  expense  of  purchas 
ing  new.  Yes,  that  could  be  arranged ;  but  yet  the 
project  seemed  very  distant. 

It  was  not  until  some  months  after  the  matter  was 
first  talked  of,  that  a  way  opened  for  James.  He 
had  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  few  dollars  on  an 
unusually  profitable  job  of  carpentering,  and,  although 
the  sum  seemed  a  mere  pittance  for  one  in  his  cir 
cumstances  to  begin  such  an  undertaking,  he  resolved 
to  make  a  beginning  and  trust  the  future  to  open 
the  way  to  further  advancement. 

In  1849,  that  year  made  memorable  by  the  discov 
ery  of  gold  in  California,  and  which  witnessed  the 
departure  of  so  many  young  men  for  the  gold  fields, 
James  began  his  course  of  instruction  at  Chester. 
It  was  the  humblest  beginning  that  could  be  made, 
and  it  must  have  most  severely  wounded  his  pride  to 
be  associated  with  scholars  more  advanced  and  so 
much  more  favored  in  worldly  possessions.  He  was 
too  brave  to  exhibit  any  misgivings,  or  let  people 


$4         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

know  that  he  noticed  the  distinctions  which  are  al 
ways,  but  often  unconsciously,  made  between  the 
rich  and  poor  by  the  best  of  men  and  women. 

A  description  of  their  style  of  living  at  the  Geauga 
Seminary  has  been  given  to  the  author  by  one  of  his 
room-mates  who  attended  the  school  the  second  term 
of  James's  stay  at  Chester.  There  were  three  of  them 
in  one  room — James,  his  cousin,  Henry  Boynton, 
and  Orren  Judd.  The  room  was  about  ten  feet  wide 
and  twelve  feet  long,  and  was  in  a  small  farm-house 
near  the  academy.  They  selected  that  room  because 
it  was  cheaper  than  those  which  were  let  in  the 
academy  building,  and  for  the  same  reason  the  three 
boys  occupied  but  one  room.  With  the  two  narrow 
beds,  their  cook-stove,  boxes,  and  three  chairs,  there 
was  but  little  room  for  themselves.  They  divided 
up  the  work,  and  each  alternately  prepared  the  meals 
for  a  day.  When  the  fire  was  burning  in  the  old 
box-stove,  which  had  but  one  cover,  the  heat  often 
drove  out  all  but  the-  cook. 

Their  meals,  however,  were  often  cold,  and  for 
many  weeks  their  only  diet  consisted  of  mush  and 
milk.  When  the  bread  from  home  gave  out,  the 
supply  being  renewed  nearly  every  week,  they  re 
turned  invariably  to  their  hasty  pudding,  or  to  their 
hot  corn-cakes  and  molasses.  They  were  at  the 
academy  to  study,  and  not  to  cook.  To  keep  alive 
was  the  only  object  in  eating  at  all ;  and  whenever 
they  were  compelled  to  eat,  they  did  it  with  dispatch, 
and  returned  to  their  books.  Near  the  end  of  their 
second  term,  the  boys  became  very  much  dissatisfied 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  85 

with  their  board,  and  made  up  their  minds  that 
boarding  themselves  was  not  a  successful  enterprise. 
James  is  said  to  have  thrown  down  his  spoon  one  day 
as  he  finished  his  dish  of  pudding  and  molasses, 
saying,  — 

"  I  won't  eat  any  more  of  that  stuff,  if  I  starve! " 
But  all  their  drawbacks  did  not  appear  to  hinder 
their  progress  in  their  studies.  James  worked  very 
hard,  and  made  such  masterly  strides  upward  that  he 
soon  had  reason  to  feel  proud  of  his  achievements. 
His  hard  fare,  hard  work,  and  close  application  made 
no  impression  upon  the  hardy  constitution  which 
had  been  disciplined  by  chopping  wood,  planting 
crops,  and  drawing  the  plane  ;  and  while  his  class 
mates  and  room-mates  faltered  and  weakened  under 
the  strain  and  the  privations,  he  kept  steadily  pull 
ing  onward,  with  his  health  and  strength  unim 
paired. 

How  few  successful  men  have  spent  their  entire 
youth  in  school.  The  keenest  intellects  and  the 
greatest  minds  of  earth  have  almost  universally  been 
found  with  those  whose  youth  was  inured  to  hard 
ships,  and  whose  early  years  were  spent  in  physical 
hard  work.  With  a  healthy  body,  no  man  need  de 
spair  of  getting  an  education,  even  if  he  must  begin 
in  middle  age.  A  college  education  is  such  a  very 
small  part  of  the  learning  necessary,  in  this  day,  to 
entitle  a  person  to  a  position  among  scholars  or  men 
of  letters,  that  it  is  universally  regarded  by  cultivated 
men  as  only  a  beginning.  No  man  with  a  rugged 
body  and  a  thoughtful  mind  need  lack  a  college  edu- 


86     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

cation.  The  knowledge  of  mathematics,  of  science, 
of  the  languages,  or  of  history  is  no  more  valuable 
because  it  has  been  learned  inside  the  halls  of  a  col 
lege  building.  They  can  all  be  learned  elsewhere ; 
and  to  be  a  leader  among  men,  much  that  is  more 
difficult  and  more  profound  must  be  acquired  away 
from  them.  The  boy  who  has  graduated  from  a  col 
lege  has  only  just  begun,  if  he  really  hopes  for  suc 
cess  ;  and  this  after-education  cannot  be  acquired  in 
the  rough  contact  with  the  cares  of  life,  without  a 
sound  body  to  draw  upon.  Many  men  who  never 
heard  a  college  lecture,  and  never  darkened  the 
doors  of  the  humblest  university,  have  started  late 
in  life,  with  vigorous  health,  and  acquired  a  fund  of 
learning  beyond  that  of  college  professors,  and  per 
formed  great  deeds,  which  precocious  students  had 
not  the  strength  to  execute.  All  schools  and  colleges 
are  a  help,  but  they  are  not  an  absolute  necessity. 
Health  is  always  a  necessity.  It  gives  the  late 
scholar  a  strong  advantage  over  an  early  one.  It 
gives  the  power  to  become  learned  and  great  to  him, 
who  may  have  passed  a  score  of  years  in  ignorance. 
It  is  an  inestimable  blessing  to  any  one,  and  worth 
the  sacrifice  of  early  school-days.  Experience,  as  in 
the  case  of  James,  has  taught  that  a  neglected  early 
education  is  no  loss,  if  the  young  man  possesses  the 
moral  courage  to  acknowledge  his  ignorance,  and 
vigorously  sets  himself  at  the  task  of  making  up  his 
deficiencies.  It  often  requires  more  fortitude  than 
to  fight  a  battle.  But  he  who  wins  in  that  contest 
will  conquer  in  all  others.  James  lost  nothing  in  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       8/ 

end  by  being  poor  and  out  of  school  in  his  boyhood, 
and  others  need  not. 

Even  the  delay  in  his  progress,  caused  by  his  ab 
sence  for  the  purpose  of  earning  money  enough  to 
pay  his  way,  seems  to  have  been  easily  made  up. 
Having  an  opportunity  to  teach  a  school  in  his  na 
tive  town,  he  eagerly  accepted  the  position,  and  was 
absent  from  the  academy  the  entire  winter. 

That  school  was  a  difficult  one  to  control,  and  was 
noted  for  its  unruly  boys.  James  was  an  enthusiast 
then,  on  the  subject  of  learning,  and  took  the  most 
eager  interest  in  all  the  lessons  of  the  school.  He 
was  also  a  believer  in  good  order,  and  in  his  ability 
to  maintain  it.  It  is  told  of  him  that  several  of  the 
boys,  led  by  a  stubborn  young  giant,  attempted  to 
conduct  themselves  unseemly  during  the  school 
hours,  and  engaged  in  open  rebellion.  When  the 
rebellion  was  crushed,  which  was  not  long  after  the 
teacher  set  about  it-,  there  were  several  sore  heads, 
a  giant  with  a  lame  back,  and  the  most  perfect  de^- 
corum  throughout  the  school-room. 

During  these  academic  days,  James  took  an  active 
and  permanent  interest  in  religious  matters.  His  free 
spirit  and  strong  independence  of  character  inclined 
him  toward  the  Church  of  the  Disciples,  the  creed 
of  which,  if  it  may  be  said  to  have  had  any  in  that 
day,  was  untrammeled  by  traditions  and  unfettered  by 
any  laws,  save  the  words  of  the  Bible,  without  change 
or  comment.  They  formed  a  religious  community, 
in  which  all  were  supposed  to  have  an  equal  share, 
and  in  which  every  one  could  preach,  if  he  so  de- 


88         THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

sired,  without  the  usual  ceremony  of  ordination  or 
installation.  It  claimed  then,  as  the  large  church 
does  now,  to  follow  the  example  of  Jesus,  as  the  dis 
ciples  followed  it,  and  to  be  as  free  from  church  or 
ganization  and  creeds,  as  were  the  apostles.  Alex 
ander  Campbell,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  was  long  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  claimed  to  differ 
from  them  only  in  his  disbelief  in  the  binding  force 
of  the  church  creed,  and  in  the  necessity  of  ministe 
rial  ordinations.  Such,  in  the  main,  seems  to  be  the 
faith  of  the  church  he  founded. 

In  1848  and  1849,  the  religious  movement  in  favor 
of  the  Disciples  was  very  strong  in  the  northern 
part  of  Ohio,  and  Mrs.  Garfield  was  one  of  its  early 
converts.  With  her,  were  many  members  of  the 
families. in  Orange,  including  "  Uncle  Amos."  They 
were  a  sensible,  devout,  sincere  and  unobtrusive  sect, 
and  their  belief  and  example  naturally  appealed  to 
the  large-hearted,  plain  people  of  Ohio. 

It  may  be  that  the  church  would  not  have  grown 
with  such  rapidity,  had  it  not  been  for  a  most  absurd 
persecution  which  sprung  up  among  the  Baptist  and 
Freewill  Baptist  churches.  Opposition  and  unjust 
persecution  have  ever  been  meat  and  drink  for  new 
religious  movements.  Churches  thrive  under  oppo 
sition,  and  lag  in  profound  peace.  Many  of  the 
Freewill  Baptists,  having  gained  considerable 
strength  themselves  by  the  persecution  they  had 
endured,  were  foolish  enough  to  repeat  the  ever- 
recurring  event  of  the  past  history,  and  in  turn  be 
gan  the  persecution  of  the  Disciples.  It  was  a 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       89 

movement  discountenanced  by  many  of  the  best 
members,  and  few  churches,  as  a  body,  took  a  share 
in  it.  But  the  spirit  of  persecution 'showed  itself  in 
little  acts  of  discourtesy,  in  refusing  to  speak  when 
accosted,  in  shunning  companionship,  in  refusing 
to  allow  the  children  to  play  together,  in  favoritism 
in  school,  and  on  public  occasions,  and  sometimes  in 
angry  personal  disputes. 

James  had  no  sympathy  whatever  with  that  spirit, 
and  sympathized  deeply  with  the  inoffensive  yet 
injured  party.  The  Geauga  Seminary  at  Chester 
felt  the  effects  of  public  opinion,  and  became  the 
scene  of  frequent  disputes  and  of  unpleasant  religious 
controversy.  The  same  feeling  existed  in  other 
schools  ;  and  as  the  "  Disciples  of  Christ "  grew 
stronger  and  bolder,  the  necessity  for  an  institution 
of  learning  for  their  sons  and  daughters  forced  itself 
on  their  attention,  and  led  to  the  foundation  of  an 
academy  at  Hiram,  Portage  county,  of  which  we 
shall  speak  further  in  the  next  chapter. 

In  all  the  discussions  on  religious  topics,  James 
was  the  outspoken  champion  of  entire  religious  free 
dom,  and  fought  with  all  his  heart  against  any  ostra 
cism  or  persecution  because  of  religious  opinions.  He 
claimed  the  right  to  follow  the  faith  the  Bible  appear 
ed  to  him  to  teach,  and  stoutly  maintained  that  every 
other  person  should  be  given  the  same  sacred  right. 
His  Christian  faith  and  his  behavior  were  both  open, 
courageous,  generous  and  impartial,  and  his  advocacy 
of  the  Disciples  did  much  in  that  early  day  to 
strengthen  the  stakes  of  their  tabernacle. 


QO    THE  'LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 

His  life  as  a  Christian  young  man  did  much  to 
assist  the  creed  to  which  he  adhered  For  no  oppos 
ing  politician  has  ever  been  found,  —  and  they  are  the 
most  merciless  of  critics, — who  would  venture  to  say 
that  James  led  an  inconsistent  life.  One  old  gentle 
man  residing  in  Mayfield,  who  knew  James  in  that 
early  day,  said  of  him  afterwards,  that, — 

"  His  conscience  kinder  went  ahead  on  him  inter 
his  work,  an'  ye  could  allers  trust  him  to  du  any  job, 
hoein',  rakin,'  hewin',  planin',  teachin',  or  any  other 
thing,  fur  he'd  feel  much  the  wust  ef  he  left  any 
out  as  it  hadn't  dorter  be.  He  didn't  cover  up 
nothin'  h'ed  spiled,  an'  he'd  work  just  as  fast  if  the 
man  who  paid  him  warnt  around.  He  was  right-up- 
'n  down  squar  ! " 

Such  is  the  universal  testimony  of  those  for  whom 
he  labored  in  field  and  shop,  woodland  and  school 
room  during  his  vacations,  and  when  the  strongest 
temptations  which  ever  beset  a  young  man  urged 
him  to  slight  his  work  and  obtain  money  without 
giving  an  honest  equivalent.  Such  a  name  was 
of  inestimable  value  to  him  in  after  years,  and  to  the 
church  whose  cause  he  thus  early  espoused. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        9 1 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SCHOLAR  AND  TEACHER  AT  HIRAM. 

LEAVING  CHESTER.  —  DESCRIPTION  OF  HIRAM.  — THB  CROWN  OF  OHIO. 
—  THE  ECLECTIC  INSTITUTE.  —  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY.  — A  LEADER 
AMONG  THE  STUDENTS.  —JANITOR  OF  THE  BUILDING.  —  URGED  TO 
BECOME  A  PREACHER.  —  DETERMINED  TO  ATTEND  COLLEGE.  —  THE 
DEBATING  CLUB. — A  REVOLT. — OUTSIDE  STUDIES.  —  WORK  A3  A 
TEACHER.  —  WORKS  ON  ALONE  INTO  THE  COLLEGE  TEXT-BOOKS.  — 
BORROWS  MONEY  OF  HIS  UNCLE  THOMAS.  —  STARTS  FOR  WILLIAMS- 
TOWN  COLLEGE. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  all  his  hardships  and  annoy 
ances  at  Chester,  James  parted  with  the  school  and 
town,  at  the  end  of  his  last  term  there,  with  feel 
ings  of  sincere  regret.  'It  had  opened  a  new  life  to 
him,  and  he  was  profoundly  grateful.  It  was  an 
excellent  school.  Its  teachers  were  faithful,  kind 
and  competent.  The  boys  and  girls  who  attended 
there  went  for  the  purpose  of  making  themselves 
useful  in  the  future,  and  they  had  been  most  con 
genial  companions.  The  wide  landscape,  which 
stretched  far  away  in  every  direction  from  the  pleas 
ant  hill -top  where  the  academy  stood,  was  one  he 
often  loved  to  contemplate,  and  it  had  exercised  its 
useful  influence  in  shaping  the  course  of  his  life. 
There,  among  other  pleasant  faces,  he  had  been 
gratified  to  meet  the  modest,  quiet  girl  they  called 


Q2         THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

'Crete  Rudolph,  whose  home  was  in  Hiram,  and 
who  was  to  cross  his  path  again.  He  had  obtained 
in  that  recitation  room,  they  called  "  the  chapel," 
many  new  ideas,  and  a  fund  of  encouragement.  He 
came  to  it  a  coarse  and  awkward  woodsman,  and  in 
portions  of  two  years,  it  had  lifted  him  into  an  aspir 
ing  scholar,  with  attainments  worthy  of  any  of  his 
age.  It  had  made  the  world  more  beautiful,  more 
valuable,  and  life  more  earnest  and  sublime.  It  had 
revealed  to  him  the  latent  power  within  himself. 
It  had  shown  him  the  distant  mountain-tops  of  fame 
and  greatness,  and  set  his  feet  in  the  path  that  led 
heavenward.  It  is  said  of  him  that  he- was  wise 
enough  to  see  and  appreciate  it  all,  and  if  he  did, 
his  heart  throbbed  sadly  as  he  turned  away  from 
those  beloved  scenes. 

His  life  at  the  Chester  Academy  had  much  of 
sunshine  in  it  after  all.  He  had  not  always  worn 
the  coarsest  clothes,  nor  had 'he  every  term  boarded 
himself.  For  to-day,  teachers  will  show  to  the 
visitor  the  battered  and  narrow  chamber  in  the  third 
story  of  the  academy,  in  which  he  slept  during  the 
two  terms  he  boarded  in  the  building,  and  the  same 
old  stove  at  which  he  warmed  himself. 

Thus,  with  feelings  of  gratitude  for  the  past,  and 
with  high  hopes  of  the  future,  James  turned  from 
Chester  toward  Hiram.  He  had  no  more  capital 
then,  than  when  he  came  to  Chester,  except  the 
ability  to  command  higher  wages  as  a  teacher,  and 
the  increased  skill  which  a  few  months  more  of 
practice  had  given  him  as  a  carpenter. 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  93 

The  town  of  Hiram  is  in  Portage  county,  and  its 
situation  is  such  that  it  might  be  styled  "the  crown 
of  Ohio."  It  is  located  very  close  to  that  elevated 
line  where  the  waters  divide,  one  part  flowing  south 
ward  to  the  Ohio  river,  and  the  other  portion  north 
ward  to  Lake  Erie.  From  the  commanding  eminence 
where  the  college  is  located,  the  panorama  is  beauti 
ful  and  extensive.  The  spectator  looks  down  upon 
fields  of  grain  and  tracks  of  woodland,  and  aw^iy  to 
hills  and  forests,  with  glimpses  of  the  neatest  of 
farm-houses  in  the  country,  and  of  clustered  dwell 
ings  in  the  distant  villages,  adding  the  romance  of 
art  to  the  attractions  of  nature.  So  varied  is  the 
landscape  and  so  serenely  quiet  seems  everything  in 
sight,  that  many  beholders  stand  and  gaze,  and  gaze 
again,  with  an  inexhaustible  satisfaction.  It  is  one 
of  those  sweet  and  quiet  retreats  whose  embowered 
walks  and  shady  lawns  seem  most  consistent  with  a 
thoughtful  mood  and  a  virtuous  mind.  Strikingly 
suggestive  of  the  sylvan  shades  of  antiquity,  in  the 
shape  of  the  hills  and  the  verdure  of  its  trees,  the 
college  seems  to  be  a  part  of  the  natural  landscape. 

There,  in  1849,  the  leaders  among  the  Churches  of 
the  Disciples  decided  to  locate  their  academy  ;  and 
March  i,  1850,  the  legislature  of  Ohio  granted  them 
a  charter,  under  the  name  of  "The  Western  Reserve 
Eclectic  Institute."  Among  the  founders  of  the 
institute  was  Mr.  Zeb  Rudolph,  the  father  of  Lucretia 
Rudolph,  of  whom  mention  was  made  in  the  last 
chapter.  There  was  a  flourishing  church  of  their 
faith  near  the  spot  which  they  selected,  and  a  neigh- 


94      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

borhood  composed  of  very  intelligent  farmers,  many  of 
whom  were  born  in  New  England.  Professor  B.  A. 
Hinsdale,  in  writing  for  the  "Centennial  History  of 
Education  in  Ohio,"  thus  speaks  of  the  aims  which 
the  founders  had  in  establishing  the  school : 

"  The  aims  of  the  school  were  both  general  and 
special  ;  more  narrowly  they  were  these  : 

(1)  To  provide   a   sound    scientific   and   literary 
education. 

(2)  To  temper  and  sweeten  such  education    with 
moral  and  scriptural  knowledge. 

(3)  To  educate  young  men  for  the  ministry. 
One  peculiar  tenet  of  the  religious   movement   in 

which  it  originated,  was  impressed  upon  the  Eclec 
tic  Institute  at  its  organization.  The  Disciples 
believed  that  the  Bible  had  been  in  a  degree  obscur 
ed  by  the  theological  speculations  and  ecclesiastical 
systems.  Hence,  their  religious  movement  was  a 
revolt  from  the  theology  of  the  schools,  and  an  over 
ture  to  men  to  come  face  to  face  with  the  Scriptures. 
They  believed,  also,  that  to  the  Holy  Writings  be 
longed  a  iarger  place  in  general  culture  than  had  yet 
been  accorded  to  them.  Accordingly,  in  all  their 
educational  institutions  they  have  emphasized  the 
Bible  and  its  related  branches  of  knowledge.  This 
may  be  called  the  distinctive  feature  of  their  schools. 
The  charter  of  the  Eclectic  Institute,  therefore,  de 
clared  the  purpose  of  the  institution  to  be  :  "  The 
instruction  of  youth  of  both  sexes  in  the  various 
branches  of  literature  and  science,  especially  of  moral 
science  as  based  on  the  facts  and  precepts  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures." 

"  The  Institute  rose  at  once  to  a  high  degree  of 
popularity.  On  the  opening  day,  eighty-four  students 
were  in  attendance,  and  soon  the  number  rose  to 
two  or  three  hundred  per  term.  Students  came 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      .   95 

from  a  wide  region  of  country.  Ohio  furnished  the 
larger  number,  but  there  was  a  liberal  patronage 
from  Canada,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania  ;  a  con 
siderable  number  came  from  the  Southern  States, 
and  a  still  larger  from  the  Western.  These  students 
differed  widely  in  age,  ability,  culture,  and  wants. 
Some  received  grammar  school  instruction ;  others 
high  school  instruction  ;  while  others  still  pushed 
on  far  into  the  regular  college  course.  Classes  were 
organized  and  taught  in  the  collegiate  studies  as  they 
were  called  for ;  Language,  Mathematics,  Literature, 
Science,  Pnilosophy,  and  History.  No  degrees  were 
conferred,  and  no  students  were  graduated.  After 
they  had  mastered  the  English  studies,  students  were 
allowed  a  wide  range  of  choice.  The  principle  of 
election  had  free  course.  A  course  of  study  was 
published  in  the  catalogue  after  the  first  year  or  two  ; 
but  it  was  rather  a  list  of  studies  taught  as  they  were 
called  for  than  a  curriculum  that  students  pretended 
closely  to  follow." 

The  Institute  had  passed  through  one  term  when 
James  appeared  at  Hiram  ready  for  work,  He  was 
as  courageous  and  as  poor  as  ever.  His  cousins  were 
with  him,  but  they  had  abandoned  the  expectation  of 
keeping  pace  with  him.  He  carved  his  own  -way 
and  was,  at  that  time,  a  "  law  unto  himself."  He  had 
won  the  battle  for  mental  supremacy  before  he  entered 
at  Hiram,  and  ever  after  he  was  treated  by  the 
many  students  who  came  to  Hiram  from  Chester,  and 
soon  by  all  at  Hiram,  as  though  he  was  of  a  different 
mould  from  the  masses,  and  one  who  was  expected 
to  learn  faster  and  know  more  than  his  class-mates. 

Still  the  weights  of  poverty  hung  to  his  feet  and 
the  struggles  for  a  livelihood  were  long,  severe,  bitter. 


96         THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

One  of  the  first  attempts  he  made  to  make  sure  of 
food  while  he  studied,  was  to  secure  the  place  of 
janitor  of  the  building,  where  he  might  build  the  fires, 
sweep  the  recitation  rooms,  and  ring  the  bell  for  a 
small  sum  per  month.  He  that  afterwards  became 
a  professor  in  the  same  rooms  he  had  swept  as  a 
young  man  ;  he  that  was  to  be  the  President  of  that 
college,  the  bell  of  which  he  was  glad  of  a  chance  to 
ring,  began  at  the  very  lowest  and  stooped  to  con 
quer. 

The  good  Christian  people  who  took  an  active  share 
in  supporting  the  institute,  noticed  his  meekness 
and  recognized  his  superior  abilities.  They  regard 
ed  him  as  providentially  adapted  to  the  work  of 
preaching  the  gospel,  and  repeatedly  urged  him  to 
follow  that  profession.  They  did  not  find  in  him 
any  disinclination  to  do  his  duty;  but  there  was  at 
one  time  a  hesitancy,  on  his  part,  about  entering  the 
ministry,  owing  to  his  distrust  of  his  ability  and 
fitness.  He  began,  however,  as  early  as  his  twenty- 
first  year  to  fill  the  pulpits  in  various  churches  of  his 
own  denomination  ;  and  before  his  graduation  or  de 
parture  from  Hiram,  he  was  in  most  flattering  demand 
to  supply  vacant  pastorates  in  the  vicinity. 

Some  urged  him  to  be  satisfied  with  the  instruction  at 
the  institute,  which  was  not  for  many  years  after  a  col 
lege,  and  to  abandon  his  plans  for  a  collegiate  course 
But  no  offer,  however  large,  and  no  place  however 
high,  could  induce  him  to  rest  satisfied  with  anything 
less  than  the  highest  educational  culture. 

Living  upon  the  simplest  farmer's  fare,  and  sleep- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        97 

ing  in  the  humblest  and  plainest  of  the  basement 
rooms  in  the  college,  he  kept  steadily  before  him 
the  hope  of  being  able  to  stand  among  the  highest 
and  best  in  the  land.  He  was  a  lover  of  college 
sports,  and  was  eager  to  win  the  games  in  which  he 
took  part. 

But  the  place  he  loved  most  to  visit  was  the  de  [ 
bating  club  which  was  to  him  both  a  recreation  and 
a  study.  The  debates  were  always  vigorous  and 
scholarly  on  the  part  of  a  portion  of  the  students, 
and  somewhat  light  and  jocose  on  the  part  of  others  ; 
and  it  appears  that  the  debating  club  to  which  James 
belonged  had  a  serious  division,  owing  to  a  differ 
ence  in  the  tastes  of  the  members.  As  is  usually 
the  case,  those  who  enjoyed  frivolity  better  than 
sound  sense  were  in  the  majority  and  could  carry  by 
a  preponderance  of  votes  any  measure  which  they 
brought  before  the  club. 

The  contest  over  some  matter  concerning  a  public 
debate,  become  so  serious  and  bitter  that  young 
Garfield  arose,  in  considerable  anger,  and  declared 
that  sooner  than  be  compelled  to  waste  his  time  in 
such  nonsense  as  the  majority  proposed,  he  would 
form  another  society,  if  he  had  to  debate  alone  with 
himself.  Believing  the  minority  had  rights  which 
the  majority  were  bound  to  respect,  he  demanded 
concessions  from  the  party  in  power,  or  he  would 
withdraw.  The  concessions  were  not  made,  and  he 
set  up  the  standard  of  revolt.  To  his  colors  the 
leading  students  flocked,  and  a  second  society  was 

7 


98         THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

formed  with  him  for  President  which   long   outlived 
the  one  from  which  they  withdrew. 

It  is  said  that  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  the 
regular  studies  of  the  institute,  but  used  his  extra 
hours  in  reading  history  and  theological  works. 
The  work  which  he  accomplished  must  have  been 
nearly  double  that  of  many  students.  Yet  he  found 
time  for  many  vigorous  games.  He  soon  left  many 
of  the  classes  behind,  and  at  the  opening  of  his  sec 
ond  year  he  was  appointed  as  a  teacher  of  some  of 
the  lower  classes.  In  that  way,  by  doubling  his 
hours  of  work,  and  taking  for  study,  many  hours  of 
the  night,  he  was  able  to  keep  on  in  his  recitations 
with  the  advanced  classes,  while  he  taught  the  lower 
grades.  The  way  did  not  open  for  him  to  secure  the 
funds  with  which  to  go  to  college,  at  the  time  when 
he  had  prepared  himself  for  the  Freshman  classes, 
and  so  he  kept  on  teaching,  and  preaching,  and 
studying  the  text  books  of  the  regular  college 
courses.  It  was  for  a  long  time  in  doubt  whether  he 
would  be  able  to  enter  any  college,  his  financial 
means  were  so  limited.  But  he  never  abandoned 
the  hope,  sooner  or  later,  in  some  way,  to  obtain  the 
money.  He  was  not  one  of  those  young  men  who 
wished  to  graduate  from  college  for  the  social  stand 
ing  which  it  was  supposed,  through  the  ignorance 
of  the  public,  to  give  a  man,  whether  he  had  learned 
little  or  much.  He  desired  the  opportunities  which 
colleges,  libraries,  and  learned  men  could  give  to  en 
large  the  field  of  his  study.  He  knew  that  he  could 
obtain  elsewhere  all  that  the  colleges  could  give,  and 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.        99 

more,  by  persevering  hard  work  over  the  books,  and 
actually  did  secure  for  himself  the  first  two  years' 
course  of  college  classes.  Yet  he  saw  that  he'  could 
progress  faster  with  congenial  associates  and  among 
men  more  learned  than  he. 

One  day,  he  thought  of  his  uncle,  Thomas  Gar- 
field,  whose  various  enterprises  had  been  successful, 
and  who  had  acquired  a  fortune.  It  occurred  to  him 
that  his  uncle  might  be  willing  to  lend  him  enough 
to  enable  him  to  attend  two  years  at  Williams  Col 
lege  in  Massachusetts,  where  he  heard  that  the  ex 
pense  was  not  great,  and  the  standard  of  scholarship 
high.  He  had  studied  so  faithfully  that  he  felt  very 
sure  of  entering  two  years  in  advance. 

But  he  disliked  very  much  to  ask  any  person  to 
lend  him  money.  It  was  a  most  humiliating  step  to 
take.  He  sought  advice  from  relatives,  and  they 
told  him  to  try  it.  So  he  reluctantly  went  to  his 
uncle, and  asked  for  the  use  of  five  hundred  dollars, 
until  he  could  finish  his  college  course,  and  earn  that 
sum  by  teaching.  His  uncle  had  always  been  kind 
to  him,  and  had  seemed  to  take  a  friendly  interest  in 
his  welfare ;  but  yet  the  nephew  had  the  strongest 
doubt  regarding  the  success  of  his  petition  for  so 
large  an  amount  of  money.  It  was  a  large  sum  for 
a  poor  young  man  to  borrow,  but  a  very  small  sum 
on  which  to  undertake  two  years  of  college  life,  five 
hundred  miles  from  home. 

His  uncle  met  him  in  a  generous  manner,  and  say 
ing  that  he  felt  sure  of  his  pay,  if  his  nephew  lived, 
loaned  young  Garfield  the  sum  for  which  he  asked. 


100      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

The  young  man,  conscientiously  desiring  that  his 
uncle  should  be  secured  in  case  of  his  death  while  in 
college,  procured  a  policy  on  his  life,  in  a  Life  Insur 
ance  company,  for  five  hundred  dollars,  payable  in 
case  of  his  death  to  his  uncle. 

Thus  the  way  opened  to  him,  at  last,  for  a  col 
legiate  education,  and  young  Garfield,  full  of  joy  andt 
ambition,  took  leave  of  his  mother  at  Orange,  and  of 
his  school-mate,  Lucretia  Rudolph,  at  Hiram,  and 
with  the  sum  his  uncle  had  lent  him,  slightly  aug 
mented  by  a  little  sum  he  had  saved,  started  on  his 
long  journey  toward  the  classic  Berkshire  hills  of  the 
old  Bay  State. 

Just  before  his  departure  for  Williams  he  wrote  a 
private  letter  to  a  friend,  explaining  his  reasons  for 
choosing  Williams  rather  than  the  college  of  his 
denomination  at  Bethany.  A  part  of  it  was  as  fol 
lows  : 

"  After  thinking  it  all  over  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  go  to  Williamstown,  Massachusetts.  *  *  * 
There  are  three  reasons  why  I  have  decided  not  to 
go  to  Bethany.  1st.  The  course  of  study  is  not  so 
extensive  or  thorough  as  in  Eastern  colleges.  2d. 
Bethany  leans  too  heavily  toward  slavery.  3d.  I 
,im  the  son  of  Disciple  parents,  am  one  myself,  and 
have  had  but  little  acquaintance  with  people  of  other 
views ;  and,  having  always  lived  in  the  West,  I 
think  it  will  make  me  more  liberal,  both  in  my  relig 
ious  and  general  views  and  sentiments,  to  go  into 
a  new  circle,  where  I  shall  be  under  new  influence. 
These  considerations  led  me  to  conclude  to  go  to 
some  New  England  college.  I  therefore  wrote  to 
the  President  of  Brown  University,  Yale  and  Wil- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       IOI 

Hams,  setting  forth  the  amount  of  study  I  had  done, 
and  asking  how  long  it  would  take  me  to  finish  their 
course. 

"  These  answers  are  now  before  me.  All  tell  me 
I  can  graduate  in  two  years.  They  are  all  brief, 
business  notes,  but  President  Hopkins  concludes 
with  this  sentence :  '  If  you  come  here  we  shall  be 
glad  to  do  what  we  can  for  you.'  Other  things 
being  so  nearly  equal,  this  sentence,  which  seems  to 
be  a  kind  of  friendly  grasp  of  the  hand,  has  settled 
that  question  for  me.  I  shall  start  for  Williams  next 
week." 


IO2      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

LIFE  AT  WILLIAMS   COLLEGE, 

HIS  HEALTH.— APPEARANCE  OF  THE  HOOSAC  VALLEY.  —  THE  SCEN 
ERY  ABOUT  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE. — THE  GREAT  NATURAL  AMPHI 
THEATRE.— THE  MOUNTAINS  IN  OCTOBER.  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE 

STUDENTS.  —  GARFIELD'S  HABITS  AS  A  STUDENT.  —  ENTERS  THE 

JUNIOR  CLASS.  —HIS  MODESTY.  —  THE  FRIENDSHIP  OF  PRESIDENT 
HOPKINS  AND  PROFESSOR  CHADBOURNE.  —  HIS  TRUTHFULNESS  AT 
COLLEGE.  —  HIS  GRADUATION.  —  HIS  CLASS-MATES. 

THE  three  years  of  study  at  Hiram  had  not  im 
paired  young  Garfield's  health,  and  when,  in  Septem 
ber,  1854,  at  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  presented 
himself  before  the  faculty  at  Williamstown  College, 
for  examination,  he  was  a  picture  of  health  and 
strength.  His  broad  shoulders,  large  face,  bright 
blue  eyes,  high  forehead,  and  brown  hair  were  visi 
ble  over  the  heads  of  many  of  his  fellow  students, 
and  he  was  at  once  known  among  them  as  the  "  Ohio 
giant." 

He  appears  to  have  been  delighted  with  the  pro 
fessors,  with  the  locality  in  which  the  college  was 
situated,  and  with  the  extended  mountain  scenery. 
In  his  letters  to  his  friends  in  Ohio,  he  was  quite  en 
thusiastic  in  his  descriptions  of  the  men  and  the 
landscapes.  In  fact  he  had  been  especially  favored 
during  his  school  days  in  the  natural  scenery  which 
surrounded  academies  and  college.  Williamstown  is 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  103 

situated  on  the  Hoosac  river,  and  among  the  most 
majestic  of  those  mountains  of  which  the  term  "Berk 
shire  Hills"  is  both  belittling  and  misleading.  The 
college  building  stands  on  the  top  of  a  natural  emi 
nence,  overlooking  a  wide  plain,  which  all  around  it 
stretches  away  to  the  distant,  towering  mountains, 
and  reminds  the  traveler  somewhat  of  the  situation 
of  Jerusalem,  where  the  city  itself  is  on  a  hill,  with 
higher  mountains  all  around  looking  down  upon  it. 
But  the  great  natural  amphitheatre,  in  which  the 
college  hill  at  Williamstown  stands,  is  far  more  at 
tractive,  more  extensive,  more  majestic.  The  lofty 
mountains  appear  to  enclose  the  plain,  with  no 
opening  apparent  anywhere  for  the  egress  of  the 
streams  whose  clear  waters  unite  below  the  town,  to 
form  the  Hoosac  river.  Extensive  forests  of  never- 
fading  green  crown  the  mountains,  while  woodlands 
of  maple,  birch,  beach,  poplar,  and  ash,  adorn  the 
mountain  sides  and  checker  the  valley. 

In  October,  and  soon  after  the  college  term  opened, 
the  frost  and  sunlight  combined  to  beautify  the  land 
scape,  and  nowhere  in  all  the  world  can  a  more  gor 
geous  scene  be  found  than  from  the  encircled  plains 
of  Williamstown,  in  the  brilliant  October  days.  The 
distant  mountains,  under  their  caps  of  green,  are  ar 
rayed  in  all  the  varied  hues  and  all  the  possible  com 
binations  and  shades  which  the  prism  can  show.  A 
flowery  landscape,  as  enchanting  as  the  fabled  beauty 
of  the  ancient  vale  of  Cashmere.  No  one  will  ob 
tain  any  idea  of  its  autumn  splendor  unless  he  sees 


IO4      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

it  for  himself,  nor  believe  the  accurate  descriptions 
of  it  until  he  visits  the  scene,  and  for  himself 

11  Sees  old  Hoosac  on  his  throne, 
With  hills  of  beauty  gathered  round." 

It  is  no  overwrought  figure  which  the  Alumni  of 
Williams  use  when  they  sing : 

"  Dear  Alma  Mater,  long  as  stand, 
Like  pillars  of  our  native  land, 

These  everlasting  hills, 
Thy  grateful  children  shall  proclaim 

In  every  clime  thy  growing  fame." 

Aside  from  its  scenery,  Williams  College  possessed 
various  attractions  for  the  young  Ohio  student,  which 
caused  him  to  select  that  college  as  the  most  desira 
ble  place  to  pursue  his  studies. 

The  locality,  the  design  of  the  founder  and  incor- 
porators,  the  conservative  character  of  the  president, 
whose  highest  aim  was  to  sustain  a  safe  college,  the 
class  of  students  who  frequented  its  halls,  the  ab 
sence  of  offensive,  aristocratic  and  senseless  snobs, 
and  the  quiet  and  honest  habits  of  the  little  native 
community,  made  it  a  most  appropriate  and  desirable 
institution  for  a  self-made,  country  youth,  like  him. 
His  modesty,  his  dislike  for  dispjay,  his  indisposition 
to  go  anywhere  or  do  anything  for  the  name  of  it, 
and  his  desire  to  work  undisturbed  by  outside  attrac 
tions,  as  well  as  his  limited  means,  combined  to  make 
congenial  his  opening  days  at  Williams  College. 

He  was  admitted,  without  question,  to  the  Junior 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       1 05 

class,  he  having  in  three  years' .  time,  in  the  work 
of  preparing  for  college  and  in  the  studies  of  the 
Freshman  and  Junior  years,  accomplished  the  usual 
work  of  six  years.  The  achievement  is  made  more 
astonishing  by  the  large  amount  of  other  labor, 
physical  and  mental,  which  he  performed  during  that 
period,  in  order  to  secure  his  board,  clothing  and 
tuition. 

He  became  at  once  a  favorite  of  President  Hop 
kins,  and  a  close  friend  of  Professor  Chadbourne, 
who  had  been  elected  a  professor  one  year  before. 
It  was  a  strong  recommendation  for  young  Garfield 
to  have  the  esteem  and  love  of  two  such  remarkable 
men.  Yet  both  those  gifted  scholars  have  kept  him 
fresh  in  their  memories,  and  both  have  watcned  his 
career  with  unabated  interest.  It  was  among  such 
men  that  he  made  his  closest  friendship.  Only 
thoughtful,  studious,  and  earnest  men  would  have 
seen  anything  attractive  in  him.  His  class-mates 
testify  that  his  life  was  so  retiring  and  his  behavior 
so  unostentatious,  that  he  made  no  especial  impres 
sion  on  their  memories.  He  studied  hard,  often 
walked  alone  in  the  roads  or  fields,  and  attended  to 
all  his  duties  with  quiet  promptness.  It  was  under 
stood  that  he  was  to  enter  the  ministry,  and  in  his 
entire  stay  they  saw  nothing  inconsistent  with  that 
profession.  He  took  an  especial  interest  in  meta 
physical  studies,  rhetoric,  and  debate,  and  was  a 
leading  mind  among  his  class-mates  on  those  topics. 

During  his  collegiate  course  he  tried  to  secure 
small  sums  of  money  by  teaching  evening  writing- 


IO6      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

school,  in  the  small  towns  around  Williamstown,  but 
was  never  so  successful,  in  that  scattered  community, 
as  to  secure  a  very  profitable  number  of  scholars. 
He  dressed  very  plainly  and  cheaply,  and  was  com 
pelled  to  economize,  in  every  way,  —  in  his  board, 
his  books,  and  in  his  traveling  expenses, — in  order 
to  make  the  small 'sum  he  had  secured  to  last  until  his 
graduation.  He  was  the  humblest  of  them  all.  He 
was  very  poor,  and  was  brave  enough  to  frankly 
acknowledge  it.  There  is  no  more  striking  proof  of 
the  fact,  so  little  understood,  that  college  life  is  but 
a  small  part  of  the  discipline  and  learning  necessary 
to  a  liberal  education  than  is  found  in  the  history  of 
college  classes.  How  often  do  we  find  that  the 
honored,  brilliant,  and  influential  students  sink  al 
most  immediately  out  of  sight  when  they  leave  the 
college  halls  and  enter  the  breakers  of  actual  life ; 
while  the  silent,  thoughtful  one,  whose  presence  in 
the  class  is  scarcely  remembered,  comes  conspicu 
ously  to  the  surface,  in  civil  or  military  life,  and  soon 
towers  above  all  his  acquaintances  and  school-day 
associates.  Sometimes,  in  the  annals  of  scientific 
discovery,  or  of  national  leadership,  the  popular  and 
brilliant  college  student  is  found.  Once  in  a  while 
the  valedictorian  is  again  heard  of  in  the  vanguard 
of  civilization,  with  the  great  and  the  good.  But  the 
rarity  of  it  is  a  curious  and  sad  feature  connected 
with  students'  lives.  It  may  be  that  the  honors  they 
received  led  them  to  the  fatal  conclusion  that  at  their 
graduation  they  knew  all  that  men  need  to  learn, 
and  stopping,  they  were  soon  left  behind  and  beneath 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       TO/ 

by  the  less  successful  candidates  for  class-day 
honors. 

Garfield's  student  days  appear  to  have  impressed 
him  as  but  a  portion  of  a  whole  life  of  study,  and  he 
conducted  himself  as  if  his  graduation  was  to  make 
no  break  in  his  pursuit  of  knowledge.  Beginning  it 
as  if  for  a  long  journey,  on  which  it  would  be  unwise, 
at  first,  to  hurry,  he  left  the  college  as  one  who  has 
passed  ihe  first  mile,  and  looks  back  upon  his  prog 
ress  with  satisfaction,  and  forward  with  unflinching 
determination.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
actuated  by  any  desire  for  fame,  neither  had  he  any 
confidence  in  his  ability  to  acquire  riches.  He  pur 
posed  to  do  quiet,  solid  work,  either  as  a  preacher, 
lawyer  or  teacher,  and  pictured  to  himself  a  life  of 
studious  quiet  and  religious  peace. 

In  his  college  days,  his  characteristic  simplicity 
and  truthfulness  were  noticed  and  commended.  He 
was  determined  to  appear  to  possess  no  more  than 
his  actual  acquirements  would  warrant.  If  he  did 
not  understand  his  lesson,  or  for  some  reason  was 
behind  in  his  studies,  he  manfully  said  so  without 
reserve.  His  teachers  never  over-estimated  him  ;  for 
his  life  was  transparent,  and  his  words  bore  the 
intangible  but  positive  impress  of  truth.  This  noble 
trait  of  his  character  compelled  him  to  make  many 
sacrifices.  If  he  neglected  his  study,  there  was  no 
escape  for  him  in  manufactured  excuses.  If  he  was 
inferior  to  other  students  in  certain  branches  of  the 
college  studies,  he  could  not  make  up  for  it  with 
"  ponies,"  stolen  translations,  or  borrowed  keys.  If 


IO8      THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

he  was  late  or  absent  at  prayer-time,  or  at  recitation, 
he  could  not  feign  sickness,  nor  evade  the  monitor's 
inquiries.  Hence,  he  was  forced,  by  his  own  rigid 
morality,  to  be  thorough  in  his  studies  and  obedient 
in  his  behavior.  How  much  of  human  success  and 
human  greatness  depends  on  the  strictness  and  wis 
dom  with  which  parents  discipline  and  educate  their 
children  into  that  sublimest  and  most  necessary  of 
all  acquirements,  —  invariable  and  unshaken  adher 
ence  to  the  simple  truth  ! 

The  two  years  of  college  life  passed  quickly  with 
him,  as  they  do  with  all,  and  the  joyful  day  of  gradu 
ation  came  to  him  as  to  thousands  of  others.  But 
his  joy  was  enhanced  by  the  reflection  that  he  should 
no  longer  be  compelled  to  live  on  borrowed  money. 
He  is  said  to  have  longed,  even  at  that  early  day,  to 
be  at  work  paying  up  his  Uncle  Thomas.  With  the 
success  of  his  studies  he  must  have  been  well  satis 
fied.  He  had  made  solid  progress.  He  had  made 
many  warm  friends,  especially  among  the  faculty. 
He  had  secured  the  metaphysical  honors  of  his  class, 
and  had  the  respect  of  all.  Yet,  to  enable  him  to 
acquire  this,  he  had  drawn  upon  the  future,  and  he 
longed  to  be  at  work.  How  the  desire  to  see  his 
mother,  and  that  other  lady  at  Hiram,  may  have 
influenced  his  joy  on  his  graduation  day,  the  histo 
rian  at  present  can  only  surmise. 

The  class-mates  of  Mr.  Garfield  are  now  scattered 
through  the  different  States  of  the  Union,  and  are 
nearly  all  of  that  steady,  sturdy  character  for  which 
he  was  remarkable.  William  Rowe  Baxter  was  a 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  1 09 

captain  in  the  regular  service,  and  was  killed  in 
Mississippi,  June  1864;  Stephen  W.  Bowles  is  a  phy 
sician  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts ;  Isaac  Bronson 
is  a  lawyer  in  New  York;  Elijah  Cutler  is  a  minister, 
and  agent  of  the  Bible  Society,  Boston,  Mass.  ;  Ham 
ilton  N.  Eldridge  is  a  lawyer  in  Chicago,  and  was 
brevetted  a  brigadier-general  in  the  war  of  the  rebel 
lion  ;  James  E.  Fay  is  a  lawyer  in  Chicago  ;  James 
Gillfillan  is  a  lawyer,  and  was  for  a  time  in  the  gov 
ernment  service,  .at  Washington ;  Charles  S.  Halsey 
lives  at  Canandaigua,  New  York ;  James  K.  Hazen, 
was  a  Presbyterian  minister  in  Alabama;  Clement 
H.  Hill  is  a  lawyer,  and  clerk  of  the  United  States 
Court,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts ;  Silas  R  Hub- 
bell  is  a  lawyer  at  Champlain,  New  York ;  Ferris 
Jacobs  is  a  lawyer  at  Delhi,  New  York,  and  was  a 
colonel  in  the  war ;  Henry  M.  Jones  is  a  Baptist 
minister  ;  Henry  E.  Knox  is  a  lawyer  in  New  York  ; 
John  E.  D.  Lamberton  died  in  1857  ;  Charles  W. 
McArthur  is  a  Presbyterian  minister  ;  Elizur  N.  Man- 
ley  is  a  Presbyterian  minister  at  Oakfield,  New  York ; 
James  McLean  is  a  Congregational  minister  in  Wis 
consin  ;  Robert  J.  Mitchell  is  a  lawyer  in  New  York ; 
George  B.  Newcomb  is  a  Congregational  minister  in 
Connecticut ;  Joseph  F.  Noble  is  a  Presbyterian 
minister  at  Brooklyn,  New  York  ;  John  T.  Pingree 
is  a  lawyer  at  Auburn,  New  York ;  Andrew  Potter 
is  a  lawyer  at  Bennington,  and  was  a  colonel  during 
the  war;  Arnold  G.  Potter  is  a  lawyer  at  North 
Adams,  Massachusetts ;  Edwin  II .  Pound  is  a  law 
yer  in  Iowa ;  Nathan  B.  Robbins  was  a  lawyer,  and 
was  drowned  in  1859;  Albion  T.  Rocwkell  is  a  phy- 


IIO     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC    SERVICES 

sician  in  Washington,  and  has  long  been  in  the  gov 
ernment  service  ;  he  was  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  the 
last  war ;  Lester  C.  Rogers  is  a  minister  of  the  Re 
formed  Dutch  Church  in  New  Jersey ;  Henry  Root 
is  a  physician  at  Whitehall,  New  York ;  Frank  Shep- 
ard  is  a  teacher  in  Connecticut ;  Oren  C.  Sikes  is  a 
teacher  at  Lynn,  Massachusetts ;  Edward  C.  Smith 
is  a  teacher  in  Philadelphia  ;  John  T.  Stoneman  is  a 
lawyer  in  Iowa;  John  Tatlock  is  a  Congregational 
minister  at  Troy,  New  York  ;  Lemuel  P.  Webber  is 
a  Presbyterian  minister  ;  Charles  Whittier  is  a  Con 
gregational  minister  in  Maine ;  Charles  D.  Wilbur 
is  a  Professor  of  Geology  in  Illinois ;  John  H.  Wil- 
helm  is  a  Baptist  minister ;  Samuel  Williams  is  a 
lawyer  at  St.  Albans,  Vermont,  and  Lavalette  Wil 
son  is  a  teacher  in  New  York  State. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       Ill 


CHAPTER    IX. 

A  PREACHER  AND  PROFESSOR. 

A  PREACHER  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  DISCIPLES.  —  ESTIMATION  OF  HIS 
ABILITIES  AMONG  HIS  OLD  NEIGHBORS.  —  RISE  OF  INFIDELITY  AT 
CHAGRIN  FALLS. — SPIRITUALISM  AND  CHRISTIANITY. — EXCITING 
PUBLIC  DISCUSSION.  —  PROFESSOR  DENTON  VS.  PROFESSOR  GAR- 
FIELD. —  HOW  THE  VICTORY  WAS  WON. —  MR.  GARFIELD's  POPU 
LARITY  ASA  TEACHER. — TESTIMONY  OF  STUDENTS.  —  MARRIAGE 
WITH  MISS  LUCRETIA  RUDOLPH.  —HIS  SPEECH  AT  HIRAM. 

ON  his  return  home  Mr.  Garfield  was  received 
with  great  joy  by  all  his  friends.  The  founders  and 
supporters  of  Hiram  College  had  already  laid  their 
plans  to  engage  hirn  sooner  or  later  as  a  teacher. 
While  many  of  the  congregations  of  the  Disciples,  to 
whom  he  had  preached,  had  equally  confident  hopes 
of  securing  him  for  a  permanent  pastor.  It  is  said 
that  he  had  not  definitely  marked  out  a  course  for 
himself,  but  told  his  friends  that  he  should  probably 
follow  preaching  as  a  profession.  With  a  seeming 
view  to  that  calling,  he  supplied  many  pulpits  and 
attended  many  general  meetings  of  his  denomina 
tion.  Among  the  people  of  the  interior  towns  of 
Ohio  it  was  considered  a  very  great  achievement  to 
graduate  from  an  Eastern  college  ;  and  Mr.  Garfield 
was  at  once  received  as  a  man  of  learning,  and  his 
ideas  on  theological  questions  were  accepted  by  the 


112      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

lay  members  at  least,  as  the  authoritative  exposition 
of  scriptural  truth. 

He  had  ever  been  a  close  reasoner,  and  an  enthu 
siastic  admirer  of  the  Bible  from  his  early  academic 
days.  In  some  places  he  was  looked  upon  with  that 
awe  and  respect  with  which  they  might  receive  a 
prophet.  In  fact,  it  is  seldom  the  lot  of  any  man,  in 
Church  or  State,  to  receive  such  devoted  and  loving 
expressions  as  those  which  were  given  to  Mr.  Gar- 
field  throughout  his  ministerial  work. 

An  incident,  illustrating  both  his  ready  wit,  and 
ability  to  cope  with  difficult  questions  in  science, 
philosophy  and  religion,  and  the  respect  in  which  he 
was  held  by  his  denomination,  occurred  at  Chagrin 
Falls,  near  his  old  home. 

Professor  Denton,  somewhat  noted  for  his  adher 
ence  to  spiritualism,  gave  a  series  of  lectures  at 
Chagrin  Falls,  and  attempted  to  prove  by  scientific 
discoveries  that  the  Bible  could  not  be  true. 

In  the  course  of  his  discussion  he  had  been  able  to 
convince  quite  a  number  of  people,  and  it  began  to 
be  boldly  asserted,  on  the  streets  and  in  the  facto 
ries,  that  the  Bible  was  only  an  ingenious  fable. 

Professor  Denton  was  a  critical  scholar  and  had  a 
very  plausible  way  of  stating  his  theories  ;  and  there 
was  no  one  found  to  withstand  his  arguments.  Min 
isters  attacked  him,  but  only  with  invectives,  which 
did  more  harm  than  good.  Teachers  and  public 
speakers  often  ridiculed  him,  but  such  things  only 
avail  against  a  shallow  reasoner,  or  one  manifestly 
unpopular.  Professor  Denton  was  gaining  the  think- 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  113 

ing  men  and  women,  and  felt  sure,  as  his  adherents 
boasted  "  of  shutting  up  the  churches  and  abolishing 
the  Bible  from  Chagrin  Falls."  It  was  one  of  those 
strange,  almost  unaccountable  freaks  of  public  opin 
ion,  and  men  were  drawn  into  it  who,  all  their  lives, 
had  been  the  most  orthodox  believers  in  the  Holy 
Bible, 

The  Churches  of  the  Disciples  viewed  the  success 
of  Professor  Denton  with  the  deepest  dismay.  The 
church  at  Chagrin  Falls  seemed  in  danger  of  anni 
hilation,  and  the  whole  denomination  viewed  its  tot 
tering  condition  with  great  alarm.  It  happened  that 
the  noted  professor  had  one  weak  point  illustrating 
the  truth  of  that  Book  he  was  endeavoring  to  over 
turn,  wherein  it  says  that  "great  men  are  not  always 
wise."  He  had  a  habit  of  boasting  ;  and  one  even 
ing  he  went  so  far  as  to  challenge  any  and  every 
believer  of  the  Bible  in  Ohio  to  refute  his  statements. 
He  offered  the  use  of  the  hall  and  ample  time  to  any 
person  who  dared  to  undertake  the  task. 

At  once,  the  listeners  who  adhered  to  the  Bible 
thought  of  Mr.  Garfield.  They  had  heard  him 
preach  at  Chagrin  Falls  and  in  the  surrounding 
country  towns,  and  they  felt  that  if  any  man  could 
cope  with  the  learned  professor,  it  would  be  he. 
They  felt  that  some  one  must  champion  their  cause 
or  all  would  be  lost.  In  a  distress  of  mind  not  easily 
realized  by  people  living  in  other  portions  of  the 
religious  world,  these  sincere  and  sorrowful  Chris 
tians  turned  toward  Mr.  Garfield  for  help.  At  first 
be  declined  to  meet  the  professor,  thinking.it  unbe- 
8 


114      THE   LIF>E,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

coming  a  Christian  man  to  debate  such  questions 
in  a  public  hall.  But  the  continued  petition  of  his 
friends  and  the  alarm  of  the  churches,  caused  him  at 
last  to  consent,  and  a  committee  of  citizens  was 
appointed  to  arrange  for  the  public  discussion. 

It  was  a  great  day  at  Chagrin  Falls,  and  one  which 
will  not  soon  be  forgotten,  when  these  two  cham 
pions  met  in  the  arena  of  serious,  earnest,  religious 
debate.  Mr.  Garfield  had  never  heard  Professor 
Denton  and  was  consequently  supposed  to  be  igno 
rant  of  just  the  position  which  the  professor  would 
take. 

But  Mr.  Garfield  had  been  too  wise  to  risk  a  cause 
which  he  believed  so  holy,  to  the  impulses  and 
guesses  of  an  impromptu  speech  ;  and,  as  soon  as 
he  knew  that  he  was  to  meet  the  professor,  he  had 
taken  steps  to  find  out  the  arguments  which  the  infi 
del  used.  Having  ascertained  privately  that  tne  pro 
fessor  was  to  lecture  on  the  same  topic  in  a  distant 
part  of  the  State  before  the  date  of  the  discussion, 
Mr.  Garfield  had  sent  a  friend  to  hear  these  lectures, 
and  write  them  out  for  his  use. 

Of  course  the  professor  knew  nothing  of  this,  and 
had  no  doubt  of  his  ability  to  silence  a  man  who  had 
not  made  science  a  special  study.  When,  however* 
Mr.  Garfield  had  received  the  copies  of  the  lectures, 
he  had  at  once  sent  in  various  directions  and  procured 
the  latest  scientific  books,  together  with  those  the 
professor  had  quoted  as  being  against  the  Bible.  He 
had  also  obtained  learned  opinions  of  distinguished 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  115 

scholars,  and,  before  the  day  of  the  discussion,  was 
thoroughly  armed  with  arguments  and  authorities. 

When  the  hour  came  for  the  discussion,  the  hall 
was  crowded  to  suffocation  by  an  eager,  and  on  the 
part  of  the  Disciples,  an  almost  breathless  audience. 
i3ut  they  did  not  lose  faith  in  Mr.  Garfield.  They 
thought  that  if  any  one  could  overcome  the  learned 
professor,  then  they  had  secured  the  right  man. 

The  professor,  amid  the  smiles  of  his  followers  and 
with  a  perfect  confidence  in  his  ability,  opened  the 
debate  with  his  statements  of  scientific  facts  and 
their  bearing  on  the  accounts  of  creation  and  the 
miracles  in  the  Bible.  The  professor  did  not  try  to 
be  precise  and  accurate  in  all  his  statements,  for  he 
was  sure  that  Mr.  Garfield  would  not  attack  him  on 
scientific  ground,  and,  when  he  stated  any  difficult 
question,  he  explained  it  very  kindly  in  "  simple  lan 
guage  "  for  Mr.  Garfield's  better  understanding.  He 
repeated,  however,  almost  verbatim,  the  lecture  of 
which  Mr.  Garfield  had  a  copy. 

Mr.  Garfield  said  nothing  until  his  turn  came,  and, 
when  he  arose,  it  was  apparent  to  all  that  the  pro 
fessor  had  predisposed  the  audience  in  favor  of  infi 
delity. 

When,  however,  Mr.  Garfield  coolly  and  with  a 
readiness  and  knowledge  which  really  astounded  his 
hearers,  took  up  the  professor's  arguments,  one  by 
one,  and,  quoting  voluminously  from  books  and  his 
tory,  using  the  professor's  own  authorities  against 
him  and  piling  up  unanswerable  names  above  them, 
there  was  such  a  sudden  overturning  as  an  earth- 


Il6      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

quake  might  make.  It  seemed  miraculous  to  the 
people,  who  very  reasonably  supposed  that  Mr.  Gar- 
field  had  not  heard  the  professor's  arguments  before. ' 

The  professor  had  the  closing  speech  to  make, 
but  he  saw  that  he  had  lost  the  battle  and  that  his 
forces  were  too  thoroughly  routed  to  be  rallied 
again.  So,  while  he  claimed  that  with  further 
research  he  could  yet  establish  his  theories,  he  man 
fully  admitted  that  he  was  surprised  and  defeated  for 
the  time,  by  the  apparently  inexhaustible  learning  of 
his  opponent.  He  said  it  was  the  first  time  he  had 
met  so  gifted  and  learned  an  adversary.  Of  course 
the  tide  of  unbelief  in  the  Scriptures  was  stayed,  and 
from  that  day  to  this,  the  community  has  not  been 
again  alarmed  or  disturbed  by  the  popularity  of  any 
anti-scriptural  lectures. 

Mr.  Garfield's  return  from  college  was  in  1856; 
and  from  that  time  until  1861  he  occupied  the  social 
position  in  the  community,  of  a  minister  of  the  gos 
pel,  preaching  nearly  every  Sunday,  and  delivering 
addresses  at  conferences  and  yearly  meetings  of  the 
church. 

The  school  at  Hiram  in  which  he  was  appointed 
a  professor  upon  his  return  from  college,  was,  as  has 
already  been  stated,  a  denominational  institution, 
and  his  position  as  a  teacher  in  a  school,  a  part  of 
the  purposes  of  which  was  to  educate  young  men 
for  the  ministry,  was  a  semi-pastoral  one,  and  con 
nected  him  closely  with  church  work. 

A  year  after  his  engagement  as  a  teacher,  Pro 
fessor  A.  S.  Hayden,  the  principal,  resigned,  and 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      1 1/ 

Mr.  Garfield  was  immediately  elected  to  fill  that 
important  post. 

Of  Mr.  Garfield's  three  years  of  labor  as  a  princi 
pal  of  the  school  at  Hiram,  hundreds  of  students 
speak  in  terms  of  almost  extravagant  praise.  He 
seems  to  have  been  loved  as  a  father  is  loved,  and 
the  affection  of  his  scholars  was  returned  in  large- 
hearted  measure  by  him.  He  was  remarkably  suc 
cessful  in  building  up  the  school  and  in  placing  it  on 
a  footing  where  its  transformation  into  a  college  was 
possible.  He  took  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  each 
student  and  stood  on  terms  of  familiar  yet  dignified 
acquaintance  with  them  all.  He  taught  them  how 
to  study.  He  played  with  them  on  the  green. 

An  illustration  of  the  character  which  has  since 
made  him  famous  is  seen  in  an  incident  during  his 
career  as  principal.  His  complete  control  of  the 
school  was  the  result  of  firmness  and  kindness.  In 
the  school-room  he  was  obeyed  with  alacrity ;  on 
the  play  ground  he  was  a  kind  playmate.  One  day, 
when  he  took  his  place  in  a  game  of  ball,  he  chanced 
to  see  some  small  boys  in  a  fence  corner,  close  by, 
looking  wistfully  on.  He  said  to  the  players  : 

"Are  these  boys  not  in  the  game  ?" 

"  Those  little  tads  ?  Of  course  not.  They'd  spoil 
the  game." 

"  But,"  said  the  principal,  "  they  want  to  play  just 
as  much  as  we  do.  Let  them  come  in." 

"  No,"  was  the  answer  again,  "  it's  no  use  to  spoi] 
the  game  ;  they  can't  play." 


Il8      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

"  Well,"  said  he,  laying  down  his  bat,  "  if  they 
can't  play  I  won't." 

"Well,  well,  let  them  come  in,"  was  the  answer, 
and  his  kind  heart  had  won  the  victory. 

He  lived  in  simple  style  as  a  boarder  saving  his 
money  to  repay  his  uncle,  which,  however,  was  soon 
accomplished.  Frank,  cheerful,  honest  and  truth 
ful,  he  was  honored  by  every  one,  and  it  is  said  with 
every  appearance  of  truth  that,  in  1859,  he  had  not 
an  enemy  in  the  world. 

It  was  in  1858,  during  his  successful  administration 
of  the  institute  at  Hiram,  that  he  married  Miss 
Lucretia  Rudolph,  of  that  place.  She  had  been  his 
class-mate  at  Chester,  ten  years  before,  had  attendee' 
the  school  at  Hiram  with  him,  and  they  had  through 
the  whole  decade  sustained  a  familiar  acquaintance. 
She  was  then,  as  now,  a  most  remarkably  sweet 
woman.  She  belonged  to  a  most  excellent  family. 
Her  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Elijah  Mason  of 
Lebanon,  Connecticut,  and  a  descendant,  on  her 
mother's  side,  of  General  Nathaniel  Green.  Mr. 
Zeb  Rudolph,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Garfield,  was  a  pros 
perous  farmer  at  Garrettsville,  at  the  time  the  insti 
tute  at  Hiram  was  established,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  of  its  founders.  He  still  lives  in 
Hiram,  his  wife,  Mrs.  Garfield's  mother,  having  died 
in  1879. 

After  his  marriage  he  continued  to  board  in  a 
very  plain  style,  his  wife  being  one  of  those  nota 
ble  young  women  whose  pretty  face  and  social 
position  in  no  way  interfered  with  her  common  sense 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      1 19 

and  her  willingness  to  make  her  life  conform  to 
their  financial  circumstances.  A  kind  Providence, 
which  for  his  good  had  often  left  him  to  hardships 
and  toil,  most  signally  blessed  his  life  through  his 
mother  and  his  wife.  Both  women  had  a  great  in 
fluence  upon  his  later  life.  His  wife,  in  her  modesty, 
industry,  economy  and  intellectual  keenness,  was  a 
treasure  of  incalculable  value  to  him  in  every  walk 
of  life,  and  on  the  day  of  their  marriage  the  line  can 
safely  be  drawn  in  his  history,  between  the  old, 
rough,  self  sacrificing  struggle  with  adversity,  and 
the  new  era  of  joy,  prosperity  and  fame. 

She  was  no  less  a  favorite  with  the  students  than 
Mr.  Garfield  himself,  and  having  been  a  teacher  in 
the  Cleveland  schools,  she  understood  well  her  hus 
band's  trials  and  needs.  Many  students  came  to 
them  both  for  advice  and  help ;  and  as  one  of  the 
graduates  afterwards  wrote  for  publication  :  "  There 
are  men  and  women  scattered  over  the  United  States 
holding  positions  of  honor  and  wealth,  who  began 
the  life  which  led  them  upward,  by  the  advice  and 
with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garfield."  Cer 
tainly  it  is  no  over-stated  tribute  when  we  say  that 
the  active,  generous  and  pure  life  they  led  for  two 
years  at  Hiram,  was  a  blessing  to  the  world  through 
the  influence  of  the  students  whose  habits  and 
ambitions  were  shaped  by  them. 

In  a  speech  delivered  at  Hiram  years  afterwards, 
Mr.  Garfield  thus  spoke  of  his  connection  with  the 
institution  : 

I  said  that  there  were  two  chapters  in  the   history 


I2O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

of  this  institution.  You  have  heard  the  one  relating 
to  the  founders.  They  were  all  pioneers  of  this 
Western  Reserve,  or  nearly  all ;  they  were  all  men 
of  knowledge  and  great  force  of  character  ;  nearly  all 
not  men  of  means,  but  they  planted  this  little  insti 
tution.  In  1850  it  was  a  cornfield,with  a  solid, 
plain  brick  building  in  the  center  of  it,  and  that  was 
all.  Almost  all  the  rest  has  been  done  by  the  insti 
tution  itself.  That  is  the  second  chapter.  Without 
a  dollar  of  endowment,  without  a  powerful  friend 
anywhere,  but  with  a  corps  of  teachers,  who  were 
told  to  go  on  the  ground  and  see  what  they  could 
make  out  of  it,  to  find  their  own  pay  out  of  the  little 
tuition  that  they  could  receive.  They  invited  stu 
dents  of  their  own  spirit  to  come  here  on  the  ground 
and  find  out  what  they  could  make  out  of  it,  and  the 
response  has  been  that  many  have  come,  and  the 
chief  part  of  the  respondents  I  see  in  the  faces  around 
and  before  me  to-day.  It  was  a  simple  question  of 
sinking  or  swimming  for  themselves.  And  I  know 
that  we  are  all  inclined  to  be  a  little  clannish  over 
our  own.  We  have,  perhaps,  a  right  to  be  ;  but  I 
do  not  know  of  any  place,  I  do  not  know  of  any 
institution,  that  has  accomplished  more  with  so  little 
means  as  has  this  school  on  Hiram  Hill.  I  know 
of  no  place  where  the  doctrine  of  self-help  has  a  fuller 
development,  by  necessity  as  well  ns  finally  by 
choice,  as  here  on  this  hill.  The  doctrine  of  self-help 
and  of  force  has  the  chief  place  among  these  men 
and  women  around  here.  As  I  said  a  great  many 
years  ago  about  that,  the  act  of  Hiram  was  to  throw 
its  young  men  and  women  overboard  and  let  them 
try  it  for  themselves,  and  all  those  men  able  to 
get  ashore  got  ashore,  and  I  think  we  have  few 
cases  of  drowning  anywhere. 

Now,  I  look   over   these  faces   and   I   mark   the 
several  geological  changes  remarked  by  Mr.  Atwater 


1^1 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       121 

so  well  in  his  address,  but  in  the  few  cases  of  change 
of  geological  fact,  there  is,  I  find,  no  fossil.  Some  are 
dead  and  glorified  in  our  memories,  but  those  who 
are  not,  are  alive  —  I  think  all 

The  teachers  and  the  students  of  this  school  built 
it  up  in  every  sense.  They  made  the  cornfield  into 
Hiram  Campus.  Those  fine  groves  you  see  across 
the  road,  they  planted.  I  well  remember  the  day 
when  they  turned  out  into  the  woods  to  find  beauti 
ful  maples  and  brought  them  in ;  when  they  raised  a 
little  purse  to  purchase  evergreen ;  when  each  young 
man,  for  himself  one,  and  perhaps  a  second  for  some 
young  lady,  if  he  was  in  love,  planted  two  trees  on 
the  campus,  and  then  named  them  after  himself. 
There  are  several  here  to-day  who  remember  Bowler. 
Bowler  planted  there  a  tree,  and  Bowler  has  planted 
a  tree  that  has  a  luster  —  Bowler  was  shot  through 
the  heart  at  Cedar  Mountain. 

There  are  many  here  that  can  go  and  find  the  trees 
that  you  named  after  yourselves.  They  are  great 
strong  trees  to-day,  and  your  names,  like  your  trees 
are,  I  hope,  growing  still. 

I  believe,  outside  of  or  beyond  the  physical  features 
of  the  place,  that  there  was  a  stronger  pressure  of 
work  to  the  square  inch  in  the  boilers  that  run  this 
establishment  than  any  other  that  I  know  of ;  and,  as 
has  been  so  well  said,  that  has  told  all  the  while  with 
these  young  men  and  women.  The  struggle,  when 
ever  the  uncouth  and  untutored  farmer  boys  —  far 
mers  of .  course —  that  came  here  to  try  themselves 
and  find  what  kind  of  people  they  were.  They  came 
here  to  go  on  a  voyage  of  discovery.  Your  discovery 
was  yourselves,  in  many  cases.  I  hope  the  discovery 
was  a  fortune,  and  the  friendships  then  formed  out  of 
that  have  bound  this  group  of  people  longer  and 
farther  than  most  any, other  I  have  known  in  life. 
They  are  scattered  all  over  the  United  States  in 


122      THL  LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

every  field  of  activity,  and  if  I  had  time  to  name  them 
the  sun  would  go  down  before  I  had  finished. 

I  believe  the  rules  of  this  institution  limit  us  to 
time — I  think  it  is  said,  five  minutes.  I  may  have 
overgone  it  already.  We  have  so  many  already  that 
we  want  to  hear  from,  we  will  all  volunteer.  We 
expect  now  to  wrestle  a  while  with  the  work  before 
us.  Some  of  these  boys  remember  the  time  when  I 
had  an  exercise  that  I  remember  with  pleasure.  I 
called  a  young  lad  out  in  class  and  said,  in  two  min 
utes  you  are  to  speak  to  the  best  of  your  ability  on  the 
following  subject,  (naming  it)  and  gave  subject  and 
let  him  wrestle  with  it.  It  was  a  trying  theory,  and 
I  believe  that  wrestling  was  a  good  thing.  I  will 
not  vary  the  performance  save  in  this.  I  will  call 
you  and  restrict  you  to  five  minutes,  and  let  you 
select  your  theme  about  the  old  days  of  Hiram. 

In  another  speech  on  the  same  subject  he  said: 

It  always  has  given  me  pleasure  to  come  here  and 
look  upon  these  faces.  It  has  always  given  me  new 
courage  and  new  friends.  It  has  brought  back  a 
large  share  of  that  richness  that  belongs  to  those 
things  out  of  which  come  the  joys  of  life.  While  I 
have  been  sitting  here  this  afternoon,  watching  your 
faces  and  listening  to  the  very  interesting  address 
just  delivered,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  best  thing 
you  have  that  all  men  envy — I  mean  all  men  who 
have  reached  the  meridian  of  life  —  is,  perhaps,  the 
thing  you  care  for  least,  and  that  is  your  leisure. 
The  leisure  you  have  to  think  in,  the  leisure  you 
have  to  be  let  alone,  the  leisure  you  have  to  throw 
the  plummet  with  your  hands  and  sound  the  depths 
and  find  wh^t  is  below,  the  leisure  you  have  to  walk 
about  the  towers  of  yourselves,  and  find  how  strong 
they  are  or  how  weak  they  are,  and  determine  what 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       123 

needs  building  up,  and  determine  how  to  shape  them 
that  you  may  be  made  the  final  being  that  you  are 
to  be.  Oh,  these  hours  of  building  !  If  the  superior 
Being  of  the  universe  would  look  down  upon  the 
world  to  find  the  most  interesting  object,  it  would  be 
the  unfinished  and  unformed  character  of  young 
men,  and  of  young  women.  Those  behind  me  have, 
probably,  in  the  main  settled  such  questions.  Those 
who  have  passed  middle  manhood  and  middle  wom 
anhood  are  about  what  they  shall  always  be,  and 
there  is  little  left  of  interest  or  curiosity  as  to  our 
development ;  but  to  your  young,  unformed  natures, 
no  man  knows  the  possibilities  that  lie  treasured  up 
in  your  hearts  and  intellects.  While  you  are  work 
ing  up  those  possibilities  with  that  splendid  leisure, 
you  are  the  most  envied  of  all  classes  of  men  and 
women  in  the  world.  I  congratulate  you  on  your 
leisure.  I  commend  you  to  keep  it  as  your  gold,  as 
your  wealth,  as  your  means,  out  of  which  you  can 
demand  all  possible  treasures  that  God  laid  down 
when  he  formed  your  nature,  and  unveiled  and  de 
veloped  the  possibility  of  your  future.  This  place  is 
too  full  of  memories  for  me  to  trust  myself  to  speak 
more,  and  I  will  not ;  but  I  draw  again  to-day,  as  I 
have  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  evidences  of  strength 
and  affection  from  the  people  who  gather  in  this 
place,  and  I  thank  you  for  the  permission  to  see  you 
and  meet  you  and  greet  you  as  I  have  done  to-day. 


124      T-HE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 


CHAPTER   X. 

POLITICIAN  AND   LAWYER. 

POLITICAL  SYMPATHIES.  —  HOPE  OF  MAKING  THE  LAW  A  PROFESSION.  — 
ENTERS  HIS  NAME  AS  A  STUDENT.  — YEARS  OF  HARD  STUDY.  — 
PROFITABLE  USE  OF  ALL  HIS  TIME.  —  HIS  LEGAL  RESEARCH,  —  IN 
TEREST  IN  LOCAL  POLITICS.  —  THE  STUMP-SPEAKER'S  CHALLENGE. 
—  FIRST  SPEECH.  —NOMINATION  FOR  THE  STATE  SENATE.  —  IN  THE 

SERVICE  OF  THE  STATE.  —  LEAVING  THE  GOSPEL  FOR  POLITICS.  — 
MRS.  GARFIELD'S  LOVE  OF  DOMESTIC  LIFE. 

AFTER  Mr.  Garfield's  graduation  from  college,  he 
found  more  time  to  interest  himself  in  the  current 
affairs  of  his  time.  Although  his  sympathies  were 
with  the  Republican  party,  at  its  birth,  yet  he  had 
been  too  much  engaged  in  the  arduous  task  of  seen1* 
ing  an  education  to  give  much  attention  to  politics. 
But  when  he  did  have  time  to  read  and  ponder  upon 
national  questions,  he  began  to  be  a  vigorous  and 
persistent  opponent  of  slavery,  and  often  expressed 
his  regret  that  Fremont  and  Dayton  were  not  elected. 
Day  by  day,  his  interest  in  public  affairs  increased, 
until  he  began  to  feel  a  great  indignation  at  the  con 
duct  of  the  Buchanan  administration. 

He  also  took  a  keen  interest  in  local  politics,  and 
watched  with  anxiety  the  measures  which  were  be 
fore  the  legislature  of  Ohio.  This  patriotic  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  his  State  and  nation  naturally  led 
his  mind  toward  the  laws  which  governed  the  coun- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      125 

try,  and  the  methods  of  making  them.  He  was 
never  satisfied  with  a  superficial  knowledge  of  any 
thing  in  which  he  had  an  interest,  and  without  any 
definite  purpose,  beyond  a  determination  to  under 
stand  the  matter,  he  began  to  read  such  law  books  as 
he  could  readily  borrow.  Soon,  however,  he  inclined 
to  the  hope  of  making  -the  law  his  profession,  and 
began  a  regular  course  of  systematic  and  earnest 
study. 

Soon  after  he  was  married,  he  entered  his  name,  in 
the  law  office  of  Riddle  &  Williamson,  attorneys,  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  as  a  student  of  law.  This  he  was 
required  to  do  by  the  law,  if  he  intended  to  be  ad 
mitted  to  the  bar.  He  did  not,  however,  study  in 
the  office  at  all,  and  his  purpose  to  become  an  attor 
ney  was  kept  a  secret  from  all  his  relatives. 

His  ability  to  pursue  hard  study,  day  after  day, 
served  him  well  in  his  legal  researches,  for  he  kept 
evenly  on  with  his  teaching  all  the  while,  and  was 
not  absent  from  his  work,  or  from  the  evening  exer 
cises  connected  with  the  institute,  during  the  term. 

He  had  formed  a  habit  of  studying  at  odd  times 
and  places,  filling  the  entire  day  with  some  profitable 
occupation  or  healthy  sport.  It  would  astonish  the 
great  portion  of  mankind  to  reckon  up  the  number  of 
hours  in  a  year  which  they  lose,  in  waiting,  traveling, 
or  useless  conversation.  Thousands  of  men  and 
women  might  have  acquired  a  mastery  of  law,  medi 
cine,  science,  or  theology,  in  the  odd  hours  which 
they  have  thoughtlessly  wasted.  The  busiest  busi 
ness  life  has  its  hours  of  waiting  and  delay,  which 


126      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

could  be  profitably  applied  to  acquiring  knowledge 
from  books.  Mr.  Garfi eld's  life  clearly  demonstrates 
this  statement  He  acquired  a  habit,  which  may 
have  been  contracted  under  the  influence  of  his 
mother's  early  example,  of  having  a  profitable  book 
at  hand  for  use,  when  his  usual  occupation  was  sus 
pended  or  finished.  In  that  way  he  prosecuted  his 
legal  studies ;  and  that  industry,  with  his  natural  de 
sire  to  be  thorough,  as  far  as  he  went,  gave  him  a 
great  advantage  over  young  men  of  looser  habits. 

It  is  well  known  to  attorneys  how  difficult  it  is  for 
a  young  man  to  comprehend  legal  terms  and  expres 
sions,  without  an  actual  contact  with  the  practice, 
in  the  office  and  in  the  courts.  It  requires  much 
more  study  on  the  part  of  any  person  to  obtain  an 
understanding  of  law  away  from  the  practice,  while 
the  number  is  very  limited  who  would  succeed  in  ob 
taining  any  useful  understanding  of  it. 

The  success  of  Mr.  Garfield,  therefore,  as  we  shall 
see,  was  something  so  unusual  and  astonishing  that 
it  may  be  regarded  as  the  greatest  intellectual 
achievement  of  his  life.  He  understood  the  laws  of 
his  State  and  of  the  nation  so  well  that,  when  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  was  capable  of  stepping 
from  his  little  country  home  into  the  courts,  of  any 
grade,  and  trying  the  most  difficult  cases. 

So  improbable  will  this  seem  to  attorneys,  whose 
years  of  study  and  practice  have  left  them  none  too 
well-furnished  with  legal  acumen,  that  it  would  not 
be  stated  here,  did  not  the  most  trustworthy  of  our 
law  reports  fully  corroborate  it. 


CF   GENERAL  JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  I2/ 

During  ail  this  critical  study  of  the  most  dry 
and  difficult  of  all  subjects,  he  neglected  not  his 
preaching,  his  public  addresses,  his  private  corres 
pondence,  or  his  family.  It  was  all  accomplished  by 
the  careful  use  of  all  his  time. 

His  interest  in.  political  matters,  however,  did  not 
lead  him  to  take  any  public  part  in  the  campaigns, 
and  his  appearance  in  the  political  field  was  sudden 
and  unexpected,  both  to  the  people  and  to  him. 

The  story  of  his  first  political  speech,  and  of  his 
first  nomination,  have  embodied  themselves  in  the 
traditions  of  the  neighborhood,  and  have  thus  been 
preserved  for  the  historian. 

A  Democratic  speaker,  of  considerable  ability  and 
notoriety,  published  a  challenge  for  a  political  debate 
which  any  person  in  Portage  county  was  at  liberty 
to  accept.  In  Ohio,  they  often  used  to  engage  in 
political  disputes,  with  the  different  parties  repre 
sented  by  speakers,  in  the  same  evening.  Such  was 
to  be  the  proposed  debate.  The  Republicans,  who 
had  heard  Mr.  Garfield  speak  on  some  minor  politi 
cal  occasion,  endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  accept 
the  challenge,  and  more  to  satisfy  the  urgent  de 
mands  of  his  circle  of  acquaintances  than  for  any 
other  object,  he  consented  to  do  so,  and  set  the  time. 
He  had  no  such  advantage  of  his  opponent  in  this 
debate  as  that  which  he  so  shrewdly  secured  over 
Professor  Denton,  and  had  to  rely  more  on  the  suc 
cess  of  an  independent  speech,  than  on  any  hope  of 
answering  the  precise  arguments  which  his  opponent 
might  put  forth.  He  seems  to  have  approached  that 


128      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

contest  with  many  misgivings.  He  could  preach  a 
sermon  worthy  to  be  published,  and  that  on  a  short 
notice ;  but  a  political  stump  speech  was  a  much 
more  difficult  matter  to  him.  His  opponent  had 
been  in  many  campaigns,  and  had  all  the  defects 
and  short-comings  of  the  new  Republican  party  by 
heart. 

The  hall  was  again  crowded,  but  there  was  not 
much  confidence  expressed  in  the  success  of  Mr. 
Garfield,  and  some  of  the  Republicans  regretted,  as 
did  Mr.  Garfield,  that  they  had  not  selected  some 
one  else. 

But  his  opponent  was  over-confident,  and  conse 
quently  said  some  things  which  he  was  sure  this 
young  debater  could  know  nothing  about,  but  which 
he  stated  in  a  way  and  with  constructions  to  suit 
himself.  Of  course,  where  a  disputant  is  allowed  to 
manufacture  his  facts,  and  to  base  his  arguments 
upon  them  undisturbed,  he  is  certain  of  victory. 

Near  the  close  of  his  speech,  which  was  able  and 
convincing,  the  old  politician  read  an  extract  from 
the  Congressional  Globe,  giving  the  official  report  of 
some  Abolitionist's  speech,  and  it  did  put  the  Abo 
litionist  in  Congress,  and  his  party,  before  that  audi 
ence,  in  a  very  bad  light.  After  reading  the  extract, 
with  great  show  of  indignant  disapproval,  the  excited 
speaker  threw  the  paper  furiously  down  upon  the 
platform  near  him,  and  within  Mr.  Garfield's  easy 
reach.  The  latter  had  never  before  seen  the  official 
reports  of  congressional  debates,  and  with  a  feeling 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

of  despair  he  took  up  the  paper  and  glanced  along 
its  columns,  with  no  purpose  but  that  of  curiosity. 

He  carelessly  looked  down  the  column  from  which 
the  speaker  had  quoted,  wondering  all  the  while 
how  any  man  in  Congress  could  make  such  absurd 
remarks,  when  he  noticed  the  name  of  a  Democrat 
in  the  column.  On  looking  closer  the  name  of  the 
Republican  did  not  appear  at  all  in  that  column,  and 
the  unprincipled  politician  had  been  quoting  a  Dem- 
cratic  speech,  and  claiming  it  to  be  the  official  report 
of  the  Republican's  words.  Mr.  Garfield  placed  the 
paper  securely  in  his  pocket,  and,  when  his  turn  came 
to  speak,  arose  and  addressed  the  audience  calmly 
and  clearly,  giving  his  views  of  the  heinousness  of 
slavery  and  the  right  inherent  in  every  man  to  life, 
liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  When  he  came 
to  his  opponent's  arguments,  he  denied  in  toto  all 
the  statements  of  the  first  speaker  to  the  great  aston 
ishment  of  the  audience.  Mr.  Garfield  said : 

"  So  absurd  and  untrue  are  they  that  I  need  not 
spend  your  time  and  mine  in  discussing  them.  I 
will,  however,  say  this  much,  that  I  thank  him  for 
saving  me  the  trouble  of  criticizing  the  speech  he 
has  read  from  the  Congressional  Globe,  for  its  fool 
ishness,  absurdity  and  unpatriotic  sentiments  deserve 
unqualified  condemnation.  The  party,  too,  which 
would  support  such  a  man  for  office,  or  would  endorse 
such  sentiments  should  be  crushed  out  of  existence. 
But  the  difference  between  the  previous  speaker  and 
myself  is  one  of  fact  to  be  determined  by  you.  He 
says  it  was  a  speech  made  by  a  Republican.  I  claim 
9 


I3O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

it  was  a  speech  made  by  a  Democrat.  Here  is  the 
same  paper.  Here  is  the  name  of  the  speaker. 
This  is  the  speech.  Any  one  doubting  my  word 
will  be  kind  enough  to  come  to  the  platform  and  read 
for  himself." 

There  was  a  shout  of  laughter,  then  cheers,  and 
the  "young  preacher"  bore  off  the  honors  of  the 
occasion. 

His  nomination  for  the  State  Senate  came  about 
without  the  slightest  effort  on  his  part  and  against 
his  expectations.  The  senatorial  district  in  which 
he  resided  in  1859  was  composed  of  two  counties, 
viz :  Summit  and  Portage.  In  that  year  by  the  sys 
tem  of  rotation  adopted  by  the  party,  Portage  county 
had  the  right  to  name  the  candidate  of  the  conven 
tion.  A  friend  of  Mr.  Garfield's  who  was  dissatisfied 
with  the  persons  whose  names  were  mentioned  as 
the  probable  candidates,  was  elected  a  delegate. 
He  thought  of  Mr.  Garfield,  and  believed  that  the 
presentation  of  his  name  at  the  right  time  might 
secure  success.  But  when  the  caucus  met  it  was 
found  that  so  many  delegates  had  been  pledged 
beforehand,  that  Mr.  Garfield's  name  was  not  received 
with  the  acclaim  his  friend  expected.  Yet  the  first 
ballot,  while  there  was  no  choice,  showed  that  he  had 
a  strong  support.  The  difficulty  was  that  the  poli 
ticians  did  not  know  him.  His  opponents  also  added 
that  he  was  too  young.  The  young  professor  was  a 
delegate  to  the  convention,  but  hardly  knew  what 
all  the  whispering  and  private  discussion  were  about. 
After  several  ballots  in  which  there  was  no  choice, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

it  became  evident  that  on  the  next  Mr.  Garfield 
would  be  nominated.  Whereupon  the  opposition 
determined  to  "  bolt  "  and  left  the  hall  with  boister 
ous  demonstrations  of  displeasure.  Mr.  Garfield  was 
nominated  unanimously  by  those  who  remained; 
and,  on  presentation  of  his  name  to  the  joint  conven 
tion,  he  was  chosen  as  the  candidate  of  the  district, 
with  but  little  opposition.  He  was  elected  by  a 
sweeping  majority  and  took  his  seat  in  the  State 
Senate  of  the  following  Legislature  —  its  youngest 
member. 

His  acceptance  of  the  nomination  and  election  was 
regarded  quite  unfavorably  by  many  members  of  his 
denomination.  Those  who  were  his  political  oppo 
nents  were  especially  loud  in  their  expressions  of 
disapproval.  To  the  defeated  ones  there  seemed  to 
be  an  awful  inconsistency  in  his  conduct  as  a  "  Chris 
tian  minister."  How  could  a  good  man  belong  to 
any  party  but  the  one  with  which  they  affilliated  ? 

Even  his  political  friends  and  old  neighbors  could 
not  avoid  saying  that  "it  was  a  sad  day  for  'the 
cause'  when  Mr.  Garfield  gave  up  the  gospel  for 
politics."  Of  course  they  knew  nothing  of  his  pur 
pose  to  become  a  lawyer,  and  they  had  yet  to  learn, 
as  he  soon  taught  them,  that  a  sincere,  generous 
Christian  may  be  a  very  successful  and  noble  poli 
tician.  Yet,  there  remain  a  few  old  and  stubborn 
church  members  of  his  sect  who  felt  his  loss  when 
he  practically  retired  from  the  ministry,  as  they 
would  have  felt  the  loss  of  an  inspired  prophet,  and 
cannot  be  reconciled  to  the  idea  that  their  great 


132     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

.  champion  orator,   and   leader,  should  "  descend   so 
low,"  as  to  be  a  statesman. 

To  him  the  election  was  a  piece  of  good  fortune. 
It  added  something  to  the  amount  of  his  limited 
income,  and  it  gave  him  a  most  valuable  and  agree 
able  acquaintance  with  the  public  men  of  Ohio.  It 
gave  him  an  opportunity  to  study  in  the  law  libra 
ries  of  Columbus  and  gave  him  a  deeper  sense  of 
the  importance  of  legal  studies.  It  gave  him  an 
opportunity  to  make  practical  use  of  the  learning 
which  he  had  so  assiduously  accumulated.  He  was 
a  decided  enemy  of  slavery  and  made  several  most 
telling  hits  when  a  question  of  national  jurisdiction 
over  slaves,  as  property,  incidentally  arose.  He  was 
not  distinguished  however,  so  much  for  his  speeches, 
as  for  his  persevering  hard  work  in  the  preparation 
of  bills,  reports  and  orders.  "  He  had  a  genius  for 
hard  work,"  and  physical  constitution  able  to  support 
it,  for  which  he  was  much  indebted  to  his  severe 
hardships  and  toil  when  a  boy. 

He  did  not  resign  his  position  as  principal  of  the 
Hiram  school,  nor  did  they  secure  a  permanent 
teacher  of  Latin  and  Greek  to  take  his  place  as  a 
professor,  for,  neither  he  nor  the  managers  of  the 
school  expected  that  he  would  continue  in  public 
life.  His  wife  with  her  natural  aversion  to  publicity 
and  display,  was  quite  anxious  that  he  should  return 
to  his  teaching,  to  his  study  of  languages  with  her, 
and  to  the  holy  quiet  and  rest  of  their  first  years  of 
married  life.  No  honors,  nor  titles,  nor  wealth 
would  have  induced  her  to  give  up  their  simple  and 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       133 

happy  domestic  life  in  Hiram.  Nothing  but  some 
great  duty,  some  imperative  call  to  help  the  weak  or 
free  the  enslaved  was  worth  considering  in  the  ques 
tion  of  exchanging  their  simple  life  for  one  of  excite 
ment  or  parade. 

But  the  home  life  so  sweet  and  dear  to  them  both 
was  broken  then,  never  again  to  be  renewed  in  its 
holy  retirement.  A  great  duty  called  him;  the 
weak  and  enslaved  asked  for  help,  and  he  promptly 
and  cheerfully  responded. 


134      THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE  EVENTFUL  YEAR  OF  1861. 

ADMISSION  TO  THE  BAR. — WITHDRAWS  FROM  MINISTERIAL  WORK. — 
OPPOSITION  TO  SLAVERY.  —  LEADERSHIP  IN  THE  STATE  SENATE.  — 
THE  GOVERNOR'S  ASSISTANT.  —  PROVIDING  FOR  THE  TROOPS.  —  THE 
REGIMENT  OF  HIRAM  STUDENTS. — DEPLETION  OF  THE  CLASSES. — 
APPOINTMENT  AS  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL.  —  PROMOTION.  —  DEPAR 
TURE  FOR  THE  FIELD.  —  CONSULTATION  WITH  GENERAL  BUEL.  — 

PLAN  OF  A  CAMPAIGN.— MARCH  AGAINST  MARSHALL.  —BATTLE  OF 
PRESTONBURG.  —  THE  ACCOUNT  OF  F.  H.  MASON.  — PROMOTION. 

THE  eventful  year  of  1861  found  Mr.  Garfield,  at 
its  opening,  ready  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  law, 
so  far  as  a  knowledge  of  its  principles  was  concerned. 
But  the  announcement  of  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
at  Cleveland,  was  a  surprise  to  nearly  all  his  acquaint 
ances,  and  completely  dashed  the  hopes  of  the  anx 
ious  members  of  his  denomination,  who  were  hoping 
and  praying  for  his  active  entry  into  the  profession 
of  the  ministry.  Occasionally  he  took  a  part  in  the 
services,  on  special  occasions,  such  as  Sabbath-school 
conventions,  yearly  meetings  of  the  churches,  or  at 
dedications ;  but  thinking  that  the  belief,  so  prevalent 
then,  that  politics  and  religion  were  at  variance, 
would  injure  his  influence  for  good,  he  wisely  with 
drew  from  any  active  participation  as  a  preacher  or 
teacher  in  church  services.  He  did  not  enter  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


135 


practice  of  law  at  once  after  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
as  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  State  Senate ;  and 
it  appears  that  he  was  hesitating  between  opening 
an  office  in  Cleveland  and  remaining  as  a  teacher  at 
Hiram,  when  the  war  broke  out. 

His  studies  and  public  duties  had  called  his  atten 
tion  so  much  to  the  institutions  of  the  nation,  and 
his  natural  disposition  was  so  inclined  toward  a  sym- 


STATE  CAPITOL  OF  OHIO. 


pathy  with  the  oppressed,  that  his  heart  was  fired 
with  an  almost  uncontrollable  patriotic  fervor,  at  the 
first  news  of  the  purposed  rebellion. 

As  early  as  January,  1861,  he  stood  up  in  his  place 
in  the  Ohio  Senate  and  declared  it  to  be  his  unalter 
able  determination  to  oppose  the  institution  of  slav 
ery,  or  any  compromise  with  it.  It  was  a  heinous 
national  sin,  and  he  would  not  condescend  to  negoti- 


136      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

ate 'with  it.  Senators  Monroe  and  Cox  stood  with 
him  then,  and  later,  Senators  Morse,  Glass,  Buck, 
Parish  and  Smith  voted  with  him.  When  the  con 
stitutional  amendment  was  submitted  to  the  Ohio  Le 
gislature,  which  would  guarantee  to  the  slave  States 
the  perpetuity  of  slavery,  he  led  the  uncompromising 
minority,  and  with  a  remarkable  display  of  ability, 
opposed,  with  pointed  speeches  and  his  vote,  every 
measure  or  resolution  which  could  be  construed  into 
a  concession  to  the  party  in  favor  of  human  bondage. 
He  was  in  earnest.  He  had  a  ready  command  of 
language.  He  knew  the  laws  and  their  purpose. 
He  had  been  bred  to  hate  every  form  of  meanness, 
unkindness,  and  oppression.  Hence,  his  speeches 
were  eloquent,  thoughtful,  and  sincere.  He  seemed 
to  care  nothing  for  popularity,  and  expected  only  to 
do  his  duty  while  there,  and  retire  with  a  clear  con 
science  to  private  life,  when  his  term  of  office  should 
close. 

But  the  earthquake  of  the  rebellion  overturned 
many  plans,  and  sent  confusion  and  alarm  into  every 
household  in  the  nation.  While  he  was  yet  in  the 
Senate,  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  and  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run  added  dismay  to  the  already  over-excited 
public  mind.  Mr.  Garfield,  from  the  first,  declared 
his  intention  of  going  to  the  war,  should  it  last  more 
than  the  "ninety  days,"  and  the  regular  militia  of  the 
State  prove  insufficient. 

At  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  he  offered 
his  services  to  Governor  Dennison,  to  assist  him  in 
the  difficult  task  of  organizing  and  providing  supplies 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       137 

for  the  troops,  then  flocking  toward  the  camps.  In 
the  multiplicity  of  duties,  and  the  incessant  annoy 
ances  which  perplexed  and  harassed  Governor  Den- 
nison,  he  appears  to  have  overlooked  Mr.  Garfield's 
ability  and  patriotism,  and  to  have  repeatedly  pro 
moted  to  high  office,  men  of  much  inferior  ability, 
because,  in  some  way,  they  were  placed  prominently 
before  the  Governor's  attention.  Mr.  Garfield  would 
never  ask  for  an  office,  and  worked  diligently  on  in 
his  unofficial  relation  to  the  Governor  for  some 
weeks,  going  hither  and  thither  for  arms,  clothing, 
ammunition,  and  provisions,  never  appearing  to  have 
had  a  thought  that,  amid  all  these  army  promotions 
and  profitable  stations,  he  might  have  secured  a  val 
uable  office  for  himself.  If  a  high  official  position 
had  been  offered  him  in  the  army,  he  would  have  re 
fused  it,  with  his  usual  excuse  that  he  did  not  feel 
competent  to  undertake  it. 

But  when  the  news  came  to  the  Governor  that  the 
students  of  Hiram  College,  over  which  Mr.  Garfield 
was  still  the  official  head,  purposed  to  organize  a 
regiment,  it  at  last  occurred  to  him  that  Mr.  Garfield 
could  possibly  be  spared  in  such  an  emergency,  and 
he  asked  the  latter  to  recruit  and  organize  it. 

Mr.  Garfield  would  not  at  first  take  the  office  of 
colonel,  saying  that  he  should  need  some  military 
training  before  he  could  handle  a  regiment.  He 
seems  to  have  forgotten  that  his  less  able  colleagues 
in  the  Legislature  had  taken  commissions  as  briga 
dier-generals,  without  the  slightest  hesitation.  So  - 
he  was  appointed,  August  14,  1861,  a  lieutenant- 


138      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC    SERVICES 

colonel,  and  entered  upon  the  task  of  organizing  his 
command. 

One  of  the  first  meetings  for  raising  volunteers 
for  his  regiment  was  held  at  Hiram,  and  the  enthusi 
asm  was  intense.  The  institution  was  almost  wholly 
depleted  of  its  male  students  by  the  spontaneous 
enlistment  of  the  scholars.  Graduates  of  the  school 
came  from  distant  counties,  and  even  from  other 
States,  moved  by  the  popularity  of  Mr.  Garfield,  and 
the  great  enthusiasm  of  that  early  period  of  the  war. 
Although  the  regiment  was  filled  almost  immedi 
ately,  there  were  many  delays,  caused  by  the  diffi 
culty  of  securing  arms  and  uniforms,  and  it  did  not 
leave  for  the  South  until  September  I4th.  Mean 
time,  the  pressure  upon  the  Governor,  on  the  part  of 
the  regiment  and  its  friends,  for  the  promotion  of 
Mr.  Garfield  to  the  head  of  the  regiment,  was  so 
unanimous  and  persistent  that  both  the  Governor 
and  Mr.  Garfield  were  compelled  to  submit  to  the 
demand. 

September  iSth,  Colonel  Garfi eld's  regiment,  the 
42d  Ohio,  arrived  at  Cattletsburg,  Kentucky,  which 
is  close  to  the  border  of  both  Ohio  and  Virginia,  the 
two  rivers  at  the  junction  of  which  it  was  situated 
being  the  boundaries  of  the  three  States.  Colonel 
Garfield  was  ordered  to  report,  in  person,  to  General 
Buel,  at  Louisville. 

General  Buel  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  as  were  also 
Generals  Grant,  Sherman,  McPherson,  Sheridan, 
McClellan,  Rosecrans,  Mitchel,  Gilmore,  McDowell, 
Schenck,  Custer,  Hazen,  Cox,  Steadman,  Weitzel, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       139 

Stanley,  Crook,  Swain,  McCook,  and  Leggett,  surely 
a  most  astounding  leadership  to  be  obtained  so 
honorably  by  a  single  State.  General  Buel  was  not 
ignorant  of  Colonel  Garfield's  ability,  nor  of  his  pop 
ularity  in  Ohio,  and  hoped  to  find  in  the  new  colonel 
a  vigorous  supporter.  The  campaign  in  West  Vir 
ginia  had  succeeded  passably  well,  and  General  Buel 
hoped  to  be  able  to  be  equally  successful  in  clearing 
Kentucky  of  the  rebels,  and  of  capturing  Nashville. 
The  general  was  a  rather  harsh  disciplinarian,  and 
did  many  foolish  things  with  his  raw  troops.  His 
ideas  of  military  discipline  were  better  adapted  to  a 
military  empire,  or  an  established  and  unlimited 
monarchy,  than  to  the  assemblies  of  free  men,  who 
were  fighting  for  themselves,  and  not  for  a  king. 
However,  he  was  earnest,  patriotic,  and  brave,  and 
recognizing  those  qualities  in  Colonel  Garfield,  he  at 
once  confided  to  him  the  plan  of  the  Kentucky  cam 
paign.  Colonel  Garfield  did  not  pretend  to  be  a 
military  strategist,  but  when  he  looked  over  the  map 
with  General  Buel,  and  heard  how  many  rebel  forces 
were  in  Eastern  Kentucky,  and  how  many  in  Western 
Kentucky,  he  thought  it  was  folly  to  attempt  to 
march  through  the  center  of  the  State  to  Nashville, 
with  such,  forces  on  both  flanks.  The  general 
thought  that  some  movement  ought  to  be  made  at 
once,  and  if  the  colonel  had  any  doubts  about  the 
proposed  plan  it  would  be  well  to  think  the  matter 
over  and  consult  again  about  it  the  next  day. 

The  following  morning  Colonel  Garfield  brought 
in  a  draft  of  his  plan,  which  was  to  move  into  the 


I4O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

State  in  three  columns,  leaving  no  forces  behind 
them,  and  if  either  column  defeated  its  opponent,  it 
could  readily  unite  with  the  center  and  move  on  to 
Nashville.  After  some  discussion,  and  after  the 
general  had  asked  the  colonel  if  he  would  undertake 
the  direction  of  the  eastern  column,  the  plan  sub 
mitted  was  adopted  so  far  as  it  could  be  without  the 
co-operation  of  General  Halleck's  command  in  Mis 
souri.  The  general  plan  was,  however,  somewhat 
modified  by  Zollicoffers  entrance  into  Kentucky  at 
Cumberland  Gap  with  a  rebel  army  to  co-operate 
with  General  Humphrey  Marshall,  who  was  already 
in  Kentucky  near  Pound  Gap.  But  General  George 
H.  Thomas  was  sent  to  drive  back  ZollicofFer,  and 
Colonel  Garfield's  orders  to  attack  Humphrey  Mar 
shall  were  not  changed. 

Thus  we  find  him  with  a  most  important  campaign 
on  his  hands  before  he  had  any  useful  experience  in 
drilling  a  regiment  in  the  manual  of  arms.  The  pur 
posed  movement  was  one  of  such  importance,  in  view 
of  the  necessity  of  keeping  Marshall  from  moving  to 
Zollicoffer's  aid  and  striking  General  Thomas's  forces 
on  the  flank,  that  it  is  a  little  surprising  that  General 
Buel  with  his  ideas  of  military  manosuvers,  should 
have  intrusted  it  to  a  commander  so  fresh  from  civil 
life.  Colonel  GarQeld  had  never  seen  a  skirmish  nor 
heard  the  crack  of  a  single  hostile  rifle.  It  therefore 
seemed  somewhat  inconsistent  with  Colonel  Garfield's 
well  known  character  to  assume  the  direction  of  so 
important  a  military  movement.  It  seems  probable 
that  he  did  not  know  just  how  important  it  was,  nor 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      14! 

appreciate  how  eagerly  the  whole  field  was  being 
watched  by  President  Lincoln  and  the  authorities  at 
Washington  for  some  signs  of  ultimate  victory.  It 
was  one  of  the  gloomiest  periods  of  the  war;  and 
when  the  news  of  the  selection  of  Colonel  Garfield 
for  the  expedition  up  the  Big  Sandy  river  to  meet 
Marshall  was  announced  to  Mr,  Lincoln,  he  sought 
Secretary  Stanton,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Ohio, 
and  asked  who  the  man  was  they  were  sending 
"into  such  dangerously  close  quarters."  The  Presi 
dent  anxiously  awaited  General  Buel's  forward 
movement  toward  Bowling  Green  and  Nashville; 
and  seeing  how  important  the  defeat  of  the  rebel's 
flank  movements  under  Marshall  and  Zollicoffer  had 
become,  he  followed  the  movements  of  Colonel  Gar- 
field  and  General  Thomas  with  the  deepest  interest. 

Colonel  Garfield's  orders  to  proceed  up  the  Sandy 
Valley  were  delivered  to  him  December  I3th  or  I4th. 
A  few  days  later,  he  collected  the  forces  entrusted  to 
him  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy  river,  and  began 
his  march  up  the  valley.  His  command,  which  was 
called  a  brigade,  did  not  number  over  twenty-three 
hundred  available  men,  and  consisted  of  the  Fortieth 
and  Forty-Second  Ohio  infantry,  the  Fourteenth  and 
Twenty-Second  Kentucky  infantry,  and  eight  com 
panies  of  cavalry.  To  these  he  hoped  to  add  a  small 
force  then  stationed  at  Paris,  and  to  which  he  sent 
orders  directing  its  commander  to  join  him  near 
Paintville. 

General  Marshall  had  a  force  of  five  thousand  men, 
and  was  in  a  country  with  which  he  was  familiar, 


142      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

while  Colonel  Garfield  was  in  a  strange  region  with 
about  one-half  that  number  of  troops.  If  there  had 
been  any  hesitation  or  delay  on  the  part  of  the 
union  forces  it  would  have  encouraged  Marshall  to 
attack  them  on  their  march,  for  the  rebel  general 
was  among  his  friends,  and  all  the  people  acted  as 
spies  and  couriers  in  communicating  the  advance 
and  condition  of  the  invading  forces.  But  so  deter 
minedly  and  steadily  did  the  troops  march  on,  that  it 
seem  to  have  created  a  fear  of  them  in  advance  which 
went  far  toward  giving  them  the  victory  when  the 
battle  came. 

All  the  information  which  Garfield  could  gain 
seemed  to  locate  Marshall  near  Paintville,  and  hence, 
he  expected  a  contest  at  that  point.  But  Marshall 
retreated  to  Prestonburg  before  Garfield  arrived,  but 
left  a  company  of  cavalry  to  hold  the  place  and  delay 
the  union  troops.  Garfield  finding  the  enemy,  and 
supposing  that  the  rebel  army  was  immediately  in 
front,  notwithstanding  the  fatigue  of  his  troops, 
moved  immediately  forward  to  attack  them. 

Directing  his  cavalry  to  engage  the  enemy  in 
front,  Garfield  made  a  circuit  with  his  infantry,  hop 
ing  to  reach  Marshall's  rear. 

It  is  said  that  when  he  had  given  his  orders  to 
the  cavalry,  and  had  started  forward  on  foot  with  the 
infantry,  he  took  off  his  coat  and  threw  it  into  a  tree, 
and  shouted  back  to  the  horsemen  so  soon  to  charge, 
"•Give  'em  Hail  Columbia,  boys!" 

But  before  his  troops  reached  the  road  in  the 
rear,  the  vigorous  charge  of  the  union  cavalry  had 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD,      143 

sent  the  enemy  flying  toward  Prestonburg  in  such 
haste  as  to  leave  their  canteens,  haversacks,  blankets 
and  dead  bodies  strewing  the  highway. 

This  retreat  was  quite  unexpected  to  General  Gar- 
field,  and  he  had  so  confidently  counted  upon  a  bat 
tle  at  that  point,  that  his  brigade  was  not  supplied 
with  provisions  for  a  march  further  into  the  interior. 
To  supply  the  necessary  provisions  caused  a  day's 
delay,  and  compelled  him  to  leave  a  portion  of  his 
troops  at  Paintville  while,  he  pressed  on  after  Mar 
shall.  At  Paintville,  however,  he  was  joined  by  the 
troops  from  Paris,  numbering  about  one  thousand  or 
twelve  hundred. 

On  the  following  day,  which  was  the  Qth  of  Jan 
uary,  Garfield  followed  Marshall  to  Prestonburg  and 
found  that  the  rebels  were  posted  on  a  hill  in  a 
most  advantageous  position  with  their  artillery  in  a 
most  effective  range.  Garfield  had  been  misinformed 
about  Marshall's  movements  and  was  compelled  to 
ascertain  the  enemy's  position  by  skirmishing  and 
feints.  While  awaiting  the  troops,  which  he  decided 
to  order  up  from  Paintville,  his  troops  were  constantly 
engaged  in  skirmishing,  and  the  whole  command 
was  under  fire,  many  of  the  men  for  the  first  time. 

It  must  have  given  a  much  more  serious  appear 
ance  to  the  art  of  war,  to  see  the  line  of  gray,  and 
hear  the  shot  and  shell  shriek  over  their  heads.  To 
the  colonel,  on  whose  word  and  judgment  hung  the 
lives  of  so  many  and,  perhaps,  the  fate  of  a  mighty 
nation,  the  feeling -of  responsibility  must  have  been 
great,  while  the  peculiar  sense  of  danger  and  dread 


144      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

of  the  unforeseen  which  fills  the  heart  at  the  opening 
of  the  first  battle,  must  have  been  a  trial  in  his  inex 
perience. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  the  reinforcements 
arrived,  and  without  delay,  and  amid  the  enthusias 
tic  cheering  of  the  men,  he  ordered  an  advance,  to 
be  followed  by  a  charge  upon  the  enemy's  guns. 
There  was  a  sharp  musketry  fire  for  a  short  time,  as 
the  enemy  fell  slowly  back  toward  their  guns,  and 
the  artillery  of  the  rebels  was  handled  most  skill 
fully. 

When,  however,  the  lines  of  the  union  forces  had 
secured  the  desired  position  from  which  to  make 
their  charge,  Marshall  suddenly  sounded  a  retreat, 
and  left  the  field  under  cover  of  the  darkness. 

The  sudden  disappearance  of  the  enemy  and  the 
silence  which  prevailed,  together  with  the  uncer 
tainty  whether  it  was  an  actual  retreat  or  a  ruse, 
made  the  hour  following  the  disappearance,  one  of 
great  anxiety.  The  troops,  fatigued  and  hungry, 
moving  cautiously  about  in  the  dark  woodland  and 
fields,  anxiously  awaiting  developments,  were  but  a 
counterpart  of  that  other  historical  picture  of  the 
great  President  at  Washington,  pacing  his  room  at 
that  very  hour,  and  saying,  "I  cannot  bear  this 
dangerous  delay.  Have  n't  we  any  one  who  will 
fight?" 

General  Garfield's  suspense  was  not  long,  howevei, 
for  soon  the  clouds  overhead  began  to  assume  an 
unusual  color,  and  a  little  later  were  lit  up  with  the 
lurid  glare  of  distant  fires.  The  distant  mountains 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       145 

stood  out  prominent  in  the  unnatural  light,  and  pil 
lars  of  illumined  smoke  arose  along  the  road  toward 
the  gate  to  Virginia.  It  was  clear,  then,  that  Mar 
shall  was  retreating  out  of  Kentucky,  and  was  burn 
ing  his  immense  military  stores. 

To  pursue  the  rebels  that  night  was  impractica 
ble,  and  after  a  short  cavalry  reconnoissance,  the 
tired  troops  used  the  light  of  the  enemy's  burning 
camps  to  prepare  their  meager  supper  and  hard  beds. 
The  time,  the  circumstances,  and  the  fact  that  the 
enemy  numbered  forty-nine  hundred,  made  the  vic 
tory  an  important  one,  while  Colonel  Garfield's  brav 
ery  and  ability,  displayed  in  the  march  and  engage 
ment,  placed  him  at  once  among  the  experienced  and 
trustworthy  soldiers. 

The  next  day  the  enemy  was  pursued  to  the 
Virginia  line,  and  the  order  was  then  given  to  return 
to  their  camps  near  Piketon  with  their  prisoners. 
They  had  killed  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  enemy 
and  taken  forty  prisoners,  with  a  loss  to  the  union 
troops  of  only  thirty-two  men.  Colonel  Garfield's 
commission  as  a  brigadier-general  was  dated  so  as 
to  take  effect  from  that  battle  at  Prestonburg. 

Mr.  F.  H.  Mason,  a  private  soldier  connected 
with  the  42d  Ohio  has  written  the  following  most 
excellent  account  of  the  battle.  He  says: 

"  The  advance  column  marched  all  day,  but  the 
roads  were  so  wretched  that  it  was  night  before  it  had 
reached  the  foot  of  a  high  hill,  north  of  the  mouth 
of  Abbott's  Creek,  three  miles  below  Prestonburg 
and  on  the  west  side  of  the  Big  Sandy.  Ascending 


146      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

this  hill  soon  after  dark,  Colonel  Garfield's  advance 
encountered  at  the  summit  a  cavalry  picket,  which 
fired  a  volley  and  retreated.  Being  evidently  in  the 
immediate  presence  of  a  large  force  of  the  enemy, 
Colonel  Garfield  brought  his  command  to  the  top  of 
the  hill,  and  with  strong  guards  thrown  out  to  the 
front  and  rear,  rested  until  morning.  It  was  a  bitter 
January  night.  The  rain  which  had  fallen  all  day 
turned  to  sleet,  and  a  keen,  biting  gale  from  the 
north  whistled  through  the  mountain  pines  and 
stiffened  the  wet  clothing  of  the  soldiers  with  ice. 
No  fire  could  be  permitted  in  such  a  situation,  and 
the  men  shivered  and  waited  through  the  long,  dreary 
night  as  best  they  could.  When  morning  dawned, 
they  found  themselves  on  a  high  hill  from  which  the 
road  descended  by  a  steep,  zig-zag  course  to  the  val 
ley  of  Abbott's  Creek. 

Immediately  after  encountering  the  cavalry  the 
evening  before,  Colonel  Garfield  had  sent  back  a  mes 
sage  directing  Colonel  Cranor  to  put  all  the  available 
men  at  Paintville  in  motion  at  once  and  march  to 
his  support.  The  order  reached  Cranor  before  day 
light,  and  within  an  hour,  twelve  hundred  men,  made 
up  from  all  the  regiments  in  the  brigade,  were  on  the 
march. 

The  advance  column,  meanwhile,  descended  early 
on  the  morning  of  the  roth,  to  the  valley  of  Abbott's 
Creek,  and  found  that  the  enemy  had  retired  up  the 
stream  and  across  the  dividing  ridge  into  the  valley 
of  Middle  Creek,  which  comes  down  from  the  mount 
ains  parallel  with  Abbott's  Creek,  and  flows  into  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       147 

Big  Sandy,  about  a  mile  further  up  than  the  mouth 
of  the  latter. 

It  was  at  once  apparent  that  Colonel  Garfield  was 
in  the  presence  of  Marshall's  entire  force,  and  that 
the  latter  was  disposed  to  fight.  Marshall  was 
known  to  have  about  thirty-five  hundred  men  of  all 
arms,  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery,  and  had  come 
into  the  Sandy  Valley  to  spend  the  winter,  and,  by 
occupying  the  country,  promote  enlistments  into  the 
confederate  service.  This  purpose  he  could  not,  of 
course,  relinquish  without  a  fight,  and  he  chose  his 
ground,  for  the  encounter,  deliberately  and  well. 

Proceeding  cautiously  and  deliberately,  in  order  to 
allow  the  reinforcements  under  Lieut-Col.  Sheldon 
to  come  up,  Colonel  Garfield  passed  up  the  valley  of 
Abbott's  Creek,  forded  the  stream,  crossed  the 
ridge  and  descended  into  the  valley  of  Middle  Creek. 
Here  he  found  Marshall's  cavalry  drawn  up  in  line 
across  the  valley,  but  a  few  shots  from  the  advance 
drove  them  back.  One  cavalry  man  was  cut  off  from 
the  main  body,  and  in  attempting  to  swim  the  creek, 
was  captured,  the  first  prisoner  of  war  taken  by  the 
Forty-Second  on  a.  battle-field.  A  heavy  line  of 
skirmishers  was  thrown  across  the  valley,  and  the 
advance  began.  The  enemy's  cavalry  made  a  formid 
able  show  in  the  broad  meadows,  but  kept  at  a  dis 
creet  distance.  Once,  they  formed  behind  a  small 
spur  of  hill  that  ran  out  into  the  valley,  and  from  be 
hind  that  cover  charged  down  upon  the  advancing 
column.  Throwing  his  troops  into  a  hollow  square, 
Colonel  Garfield  awaited  the  attack,  and  when  the 


148      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

cavalry  came  within  range,  sent  them  a  volley  which 
broke  and  turned  them  back.  The  skirmish  line, 
under  command  of  Adjutant  Olds,  advanced  again 
and  drove  the  cavalry  from  a  spur  behind  which  it 
was  attempting  to  rally.  This  little  spur  of  high 
ground  upon  which  stood  a  log  church,  surrounded 
by  a  few  graves,  was  then  occupied  by  the  federal 
force  as  a  base  from  which  to  attack  or  defend,  as 
circumstances  might  require.  Drawing  up  his  little 
force  on  the  slope,  Colonel  Garfield  saw  that  Mar 
shall  had  come  to  a  stand.  Across  the  valley  half  a 
mile  distant  was  the  confederate  cavalry,  and  on  the 
same  line  near  the  foot  of  the  hills,  to  the  right  of 
the  creek,  a  battery  was  in  position,  which,  as  the 
skirmishers  advanced,  opened  fire  and  gave  the  line 
a  momentary  check.  •  A  few  shells  were  also  fired  at 
the  main  force  on  Graveyard  Point ;  but  the  guns 
were  badly  trained  and  the  shells  buried  themselves 
harmlessly  in  the  mud.  The  enemy's  cavalry  and 
artillery  being  thus  accounted  for,  it  remained  for 
Colonel  Garfield  to  discover  the  location  of  his  in 
fantry.  On  the  south  side  of  the  creek  to  the  right 
of  the  battery  rose  a  high  hill,  heavily  timbered  and 
crowned  with  a  ledge  of  rock.  Around  the  foot  of 
the  hill  wound  the  creek,  and  close  beside  this,  but 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream,  lay  the  road.  It 
was  at  once  conjectured  that  Marshall's  infantry  had 
occupied  the  hill,  and  that  the  federal  column,  if  it 
advanced  round  the  curve,  would  be  caught  by  an 
ambushed  fire  from  the  opposite  bank.  To  verify 
this  theory,  Garfield  sent  his  escort,  a  handful  of  Ken- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       149 

tucky  cavalry,  to  charge  up  the  road  and  draw  the 
fire  of  the  main  body.  The  ruse  was  boldly  per 
formed  and  was  completely  successful.  As  the  little 
group  of  horsemen  galloped  up  the  creek  and  round 
the  curve  in  the  road,  the  battery  fired  harmlessly 
over  their  heads,  and  the  whole  infantry  force,  with 
the  trepidation  of  new  troops,  opened  fire  at  long 
range,  and  completely  unmasked  their  position. 
They  occupied  the  wooded  hill  from  its  base  half 
way  to  its  summit.  It  was  now  time  for  real  work. 

About  four  hundred  men  of  the  Foitieth  and 
For'y-Second  Ohio  were  sent  to  ford  the  creek, 
climb  the  mountain  and  attack  the  rebel  position  in 
front.  Major  Pardee  of  the  Forty-Second,  who  was 
practically  in  command  of  the  fighting  in  that  part 
of  the  field,  threw  forward  as  skirmishers  his  detach 
ments  of  Companies  "A"  and  "F"  of  the  Forty- 
Second  and  Company  "A"  of  the  Fortieth,  and 
began  the  ascent. .  The  skirmish  line  was  in  com 
mand  of  Captain  F.  A.  Williams,  who,  like  Major 
Pardee,  seemed  to  take  naturally  to  the  business  of 
fighting.  Two  companies  of  the  Fourteenth  Ken 
tucky,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Monroe  of  that 
regiment,  were  sent  to  cross  the  creek  lower  down, 
gain  a  narrow  ledge  or  crest  of  a  ridge  that  ran  up 
to  the  main  hill,  and  by  advancing  along  that  ridge, 
attack  the  enemy  in  the  flank  and  save  Williams' 
little  force  from  being  overpowered.  As  Williams' 
line  advanced  up  the  hill  it  soon  encountered  heavy 
opposition.  A  sharp  fire  came  from  behind  the  trees, 
logs  and  rocks,  and  the  rebels  swarmed  down  the 


I5O      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

hill,  shouting  and  firing  as  they  came.  Half  of  the 
remaining  reserve  on  Graveyard  Point  was  sent  to 
Pardee's  support,  and  thus  strengthened,  he  pushed 
forward. 

The  firing  now  became  as  hot  as  a  thousand  men 
on  one  side  and  three  thousand  on  the  other  could 
make  it.  Had  the  casualties  been  proportionate  to 
the  amount  of  powder  burned,  the  union  force,  at 
least,  would  have  been  annihilated.  But  the  rebels 
fired  unaccountably  wild.  They  were  fighting  down 
a  steep  hill,  and,  as  is  usual  with  raw  troops  in  such 
a  position,  they  overshot  their  mark,  and  their  bullets, 
.for  the  most  part,  merely  barked  and  scarred  the  trees 
over  their  enemies'  heads.  They  were,  moreover, 
armed  to  a  large  extent  with  smooth-bore  muskets 
and  squirrel  rifles  of  small  calibre,  and  fought  like  a 
mob,  without  plan  or  unity  of  action. 

The  federal  line,  on  the  other  hand,  advanced 
steadily,  kept  well  under  cover,  fired  deliberately, 
and,  as  the  result  proved,  with  excellent  effect.  The 
rebels  were  so  numerous  that  the  trees  and  logs 
were  insufficient  to  cover  them.  Four  or  five  fre 
quently  fought  behind  one  tree.  Instead  of  rushing 
down  upon  Williams'  line,  and  profiting  by  the  weight 
of  superior  force,  Marshall's  men  stood  and  skir 
mished  with  an  enemy  whose  very  disparity  of  num 
bers,  by  enabling  every  man  to  keep  well  under 
cover,  became  almost  a  positive  advantage.  Firing 
up  hill  with  their  heavy,  long  range  Belgian  rifles, 
the  Ohio  men  delivered  a  steady  and  effective  fire 
Gradually  they  pushed  the  enemy  up  the  hill.  Re- 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFTELD.  15! 

inforcements  came  up  over  the  crest  and  down  to  the 
rebel  line,  which  seemed  to  be  preparing  for  a  change 
down  the  slope,  when,  at  the  opportune  moment, 
Colonel  Monroe's  Kentuckians  appeared  on  the 
ridge  to  the  left,  and  from  the  rocks  on  the  flank  and 
rear  of  the  enemy's  line,  opened  an  enfilading  fire. 

At  the  moment  of  Colonel  Monroe's  appearance  in 
the  fight,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sheldon,  who,  with 
twelve  hundred  men,  had  left  Paintville  that  morning 
and  marched  through  mud  and  water  nearly  twenty 
miles,  appeared  round  a  curve  in  the  road,  a  few 
hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of  Garfield's  little  reserve 
on  Graveyard  Point.  The  advancing  column  sent 
up  a  cheer  of  encouragement,  which  was  caught  and 
repeated  by  the  reserves,  and  re-echoed  by  their 
comrades  fighting  on  the  hill. 

Dr.  Pomerene,  the  kind-hearted,  enthusiastic  sur 
geon  of  the  Forty-Second,  who  had  grown  anxious 
with  the  sight  of  this  maiden  battle,  had  discovered 
Monroe's  line  streaming  over  the  hill,  and  fancied 
that  Major  Pardee's  force  was  being  surrounded. 
The  Twenty-Second  Kentucky  men  were  uniformed 
in  sky  blue,  the  first  we  had  seen,  and  through  the 
foggy  afternoon  the  good  doctor  mistook  their  cloth 
ing  for  gray.  Mounting  a  horse,  hatlessand  distressed, 
he  came  splashing  through  the  mud  to  hurry  up  the 
reinforcements.  Coming  within  hail  of  Colonel 
Sheldon,  he  begged  him  for  God's  sake  to  hurry,  "  or 
the  boys  on  the  other  side  would  be  captured." 
The  men  gave  another  cheer,  tried  hard  to  double- 
quick  through  the  mud,  and  promptly  formed  a  line 


I$2      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

across  the  road  in  the  rear  of  the  log  church,  where 
the  ground  was  so  soft  that  some  of  the  men  mired, 
and  the  line  was  moved  up  on  Graveyard  Point.  The 
effect  of  this  new  show  of  force  was  decisive,  if,  in 
deed,  there  were  needed  anything  more  to  decide 
the  victory  of  that  day. 

Marshall,  though  far  outnumbering  his  assailants, 
had  been  out-fought  from  the  first,  and  his  line, 
pressed  hard  by  Pardee,  began  to  retreat  up  the  hill. 
Inspired  by  the  cheers  of  their  comrades  from  below, 
the  gallant  Ohioans  —  to  whom  that  day's  business 
was  the  first  baptism  of  war  —  pushed  stubbornly 
forward,  driving  the  rebels  into  the  ledge  of  broken 
rocks  at  the  summit  of  the  hill,  which  position  they 
held  until  the  already  gathering  night  closed  the 
fight. 

Colonel  Sheldon  promptly,  upon  his  arrival,  forded 
the  creek  and  began  to  climb  the  hill ;  but  before 
Major  Pardee's  position  could  be  reached,  darkness 
had  settled  down  upon  the  combatants,  and  the  bat 
tle  was  over. 

The  position  not  being  one  that  could  be  safely  or 
advantageously  held  during  the  night,  orders  were 
sent  directing  Monroe  and  Pardee  to  retire.  They 
came  down  the  hill,  carrying  their  wounded,  crossed 
the  creek,  and  the  whole  of  Colonel  Garfield's  force 
was^  re-united  for  the  night  on  Graveyard  Point. 
Strong  pickets  were  posted  up  the  road  and  beyond 
the  creek  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  belief  that  a  still 
harder  struggle  would  come  on  the  morrow,  the  little 
army  slept  proudly  upon  its  first  victory. 


OF    GENERAL    JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  153 

Shortly  after  dark  a  brilliant  light  blazed  up  from 
behind  the  hill  upon  which  the  fighting  had  taken 
place  during  the  afternoon.  What  it  meant  could 
only  be  guessed,  until  the  next  morning,  when  a  re- 
connoissance  at  daylight  showed  the  hill  abandoned, 
and  the  enemy  gone.  The  illumination  of  the  night 
before  had  come  from  the  funeral  pile  upon  which 
Marshall  had  sacrificed  his  wagons  and  baggage  — 
everything  that  could  impede  his  retreat  through  the 
mountains  to  Pound  Gap,  the  gateway  of  the  Cum- 
berlands  into  Southwestern  Virginia.  Pursuit  was, 
of  course,  useless.  With  ten  hours'  start,  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  country,  and  a  competent  rear 
guard  of  cavalry,  the  now  unencumbered  enemy 
could  have  safely  retreated  from  any  pursuers,  how 
ever  formidable. 

Colonel  Garfield's  little  force  was  weary  and  short 
of  food.  It  had  started  with  but  two  days'  rations ; 
the  country  afforded  nothing,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
return  to  the  river,  from  which  supplies  could  be  re 
ceived.  It  remained  only,  therefore,  to  look  over  the 
field  of  yesterday's  fight,  bury  the  dead,  and  carry 
the  wounded  as  carefully  as  possible  to  the  river.  A 
careful  survey  of  the  ground  upon  which  the  fight 
had  taken  place  showed  a  remarkable  disparity  in 
losses.  On  the  federal  side  the  entire  loss  was  but 
one  killed  and  eleven  wounded  —  eight  of  the  latter 
being  members  of  the  Forty-Second. 

The  enemy  suffered  far  more  severely.  Nineteen 
dead  were  found  on  the  hill-side,  up  which  Marshall's 
men  had  been  driven  by  Williams'  men,  and  among 


154      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

the  rocks  at  the  summit  of  the  hill.  The  heartless 
way  in  which  the  rebels  disposed  of  their  dead  made 
a  strong  impression  upon  the  not  yet  callous-hearted 
boys  from  Ohio.  At  one  place  eleven  of  the  con 
federate  dead  had  been  tumbled  down  into  a  large 
fissure  in  the  rocks.  They  were  taken  out  by  the 
reconnoitering  party  next  day,  and  decently  buried. 
A  squad  of  the  Fourteenth  Kentucky  still  further 
violated  the  decencies  of  war  by  stripping  the  corpses 
of  their  buttons  and  trifling  valuables.  There  was 
abundant  evidence  that  the  confederate  loss  was  by 
no  means  limited  to  the  nineteen  dead  soldiers  found 
on  the  hill.  Seven  graves  were  found  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountain,  near  where  the  baggage  had  been 
burned.  A  native,  whose  hut  was  near  the  scene  of 
the  burning,  professed  to  have  filled  the  graves  dur 
ing  the  night,  and  said  that  they  contained  the  bodies 
of  officers.  From  his  account,  not  less  than  fifty 
wounded  had  been  carried  away  in  wagons  by  the 
retreating  enemy. 

The  remarkable  disparity  in  losses  is  explained  by 
the  facts  already  stated.  The  federals  had  the  bet 
ter  weapons,  they  fired  up  hill  from  behind  trees, 
and  fought  from  first  to  last  with  remarkable  cool 
ness  and  skill.  The  scars  made  by  their  bullets  on 
the  trees  were  mainly  less  than  five  feet  from  the 
ground.  The  bullet  marks  of  the  rebels,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  wild,  being  often  ten  and  twenty 
feet  above  the  ground. 

On  the  federal  side,  the  battle  of  Middle  Creek 
was  fought  by  less  than  a  thousand  men.  The  prin- 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GA.RFIELD.  155 

cipal  fighting  detachment  was  led  by  Captain  Fred 
erick  A.  Williams,  of  Company  "A,"  Forty-Second 
Ohio,  who  six  months  before  had  been  a  student  at 
Hiram.  If  there  was  a  single  man  in  his  command 
who  had  ever  before  been  under  fire,  that  fact  was 
not  known  then  and  is  not  known  to-day.  Colonel 
Garfield  accepted  battle  from  an  enemy  whom  he 
knew  to  out-number  his  own  force  by  at  least  three 
to  one,  and  the  fight  was  won  by  simply  attacking 
the  foe  promptly  in  his  own  position,  making  intelli 
gent  use  of  whatever  advantages  the  ground  offered, 
and  fighting  with  steady  courage  and  skill  as  long  as 
daylight  lasted. 

The  Forty-Second  regiment  was  engaged  in  many 
bloodier  and  more  renowned  battles  during  its  three 
years  of  service,  but  it  may  be  fairly  questioned 
whether  the  regiment  ever  performed  a  day's  duty  of 
more  timely  and  permanent  value  to  the  country. 
The  battle  of  Middle  Creek,  skirmish  though  it  may 
be  considered,  in  comparison  with  later  contests,  was 
the  first  substantial  victory  won  for  the  union  cause. 
At  Big  Bethel,  Bull  Run,  in  Missouri,  and  at  various 
points  at  which  the  union  and  confederate  forces 
had  come  in  contact,  the  latter  had  been  uniformly 
victorious.  The  people  of  the  North,  giving  freely 
of  their  men  and  their  substance,  in  response  to  each 
successive  call  of  the  Government,  had  long  and 
anxiously  watched  and  waited  for  a  little  gleam  of 
victory  to  show  that  Northern  valor  was  a  match  for 
Southern  impetuosity  in  the  field.  They  had  waited 
in  vain  since  the  disaster  at  Bull  Run,  during  the 


156     THE    LITE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

previous  summer,  and  hope  had  almost  yielded  to 
despair.  The  story  of  Garfield's  success  at  Middle 
Creek  came,  therefore,  like  a  benediction  to  the 
union  cause.  Though  won  at  a  trifling  cost,  it  was 
decisive,  so  far  as  concerned  the  purposes  of  that  im 
mediate  campaign.  Marshall's  force  was  driven  from 
Kentucky,  and  made  no  further  attempt  to  occupy 
the  Sandy  Valley.  The  important  victories  at  Mill 
Spring,  Forts  Donelson  and  Henry,  and  the  repulse 
at  Shiloh  followed.  The'  victory  at  Middle  Creek 
proved  the  first  wave  of  a  returning  tide." 


OF.  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       157 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CAMPAIGNS  IN  KENTUCKY  AND  TENNESSEE. 

LACK  OF  PROVISIONS. — THE  GREAT  FLOOD. — DANGEROUS  SITUATION 
OF  THE  TROOPS.  —  GENERAL  GARFIELD  GOES  TO  THE  OHIO  RIVER. 
—  PERILOUS  VOYAGE  UP  THE  BIG  SANDY.  —  RECEPTION  BY  THE 
HUNGRY  TROOPS.  —  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  ENEMY  AT  POUND 
GAP.  —  GENERAL  ORDERS  CONNECTED  WITH  HIS  CAMPAIGN.  — 
HIS  TRANSFER  TO  LOUISVILLE. —  HIS  NEW  COMMAND.  —  FORCED 
MARCHES.  —  THE  BATTLE  OF  CORINTH.  —  REFUSAL  TO  RETURN 
SLAVES  TO  THEIR  MASTERS.  —  ELECTION  TO  CONGRESS.  —  APPOINT 
MENT  AS  CHIEF  OF  GENERAL  ROSECRANS*  STAFF.  —  BATTLE  OF 
CHICAMAUGA. —  PROMOTION  TO  MAJOR-GENERAL.  —  RESIGNATION. 

THE  next  day  after  establishing  the  brigade  camp, 
a  heavy  rain  storm  came  on  which  laid  a  large  por 
tion  of  Sandy  Valley  under  water.  It  was  impossi 
ble  to  march  or  to  transport  provisions  over  land. 
The  river  became  so  swollen  that  the  steamboats 
were  detained  in  the  Ohio,  and  that  source  of  supply 
was  also  closed.  It  was  a  most  alarming  condition 
of  affairs,  for  it  was  impossible  for  the  army  to  find 
sufficient  food  in  the  surrounding  region,  even  if  they 
transgressed  the  strict  orders  forbidding  foraging. 
When  they  had  rations  for  two  days  only  the  puzzled 
commander  saw  no  way  to  save  his  little  army  from 
actual  starvation.  If  the  army  had  been  able  to 
march  or  wade  through  the  mud,  it  would  have  been 
a  disobedience  of  orders  to  leave  the  country  to  be 
again  occupied  by  the  enemy. 


I$8      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

In  his  perplexity  he  decided  to  go  for  provisions 
himself,  thinking  that  he  might  find  some  boat  along 
the  river  which  could  be  brought  up  in  such  an 
extremity. 

But  he  went  as  far  as  the  Ohio  river  before  he 
found  one.  The  great  flood  was  so  powerful  that  no 
one  dared  venture  into  its  surges.  He  found  two  or 
three  boatmen  who  said  that  a  boat  had  once  as 
cended  the  Big  Sandy  in  a  flood  like  that,  but  it 
was  a  miracle  that  it  escaped  destruction. 

"  Some  boat  must  go  up,"  said  the  general  "  My 
men  shall  not  starve!  " 

He  found  a  rickety  steamboat  fastened  to  the  bank 
of  the  stream  awaiting  a  subsidence  of  the  flood,  and 
he  ordered  the  captain  to  take  a  load  of  provisions 
up  the  river  to  the  camp.  The  captain  refused,  say 
ing  that  it  would  be  as  bad  as  suicide  to  undertake 
it.  But  Colonel  Garfield  insisted,  and  the  captain  and 
men,  thinking  they  might  as  well  be  drowned  as  be 
shot  for  disobedience  of  military  orders,  allowed  the 
boat,  with  themselves,  to  be  taken  by  the  general  for 
the  dangerous  experiment.  Finding  no  one  he  dared 
to  trust  to  take  the  wheel  or  who  was  strong  enough 
to  manage  it  in  the  swift  current,  the  general  him 
self  took  the  wheel,  and  for  two  days  and  the  greater 
part  of  one  night  stood  at  his  post.  It  required  the 
most  cautious  steering  to  avoid  the  projecting  banks 
and  trees  covered  by  the  flood,  and  often  the  boat? 
would  graze  an  obstruction  which  would  have  sunk 
it,  if  it  had  struck  near  the  prow. 

Once  the  craft  ran  aground  on  a  hard  sandbank 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       159 

and  refused  to  back  off  when  the  wheel  was  reversed, 
and  the  general  tried  to  induce  some  of  the  men  to 
take  the  small  boat  and  go  on  shore  to  fasten  a  rope 
so  that  they  might  pull  the  boat  off  the  bank  by  the 
aid  of  the  windlass.  Not  one  dared  tempt  the  ter 
rific  flood.  So  the  general  took  the  boat  and  the 
rope,  and  at  a  most  hazardous  risk  of  his  life,  espe 
cially  so,  as  the  river  navigation  was  new  to  him,  he 
crossed  the  stream  and  fastened  the  rope. 

It  was  a  triumphant  hour  for  him,  when  he  saw 
the  crowd  of  his  anxious  troops  on  the  river  bank 
awaiting  his  coming,  and  one  in  which  he  blessed 
the  day. on  which  he  learned  to  steer  a  canal  boat. 

The  half-famished  men,  who  had  descended  in 
despair  to  the  river,  believing  that  no  boat  could 
stem  the  flood,  shouted  themselves  hoarse,  and  per 
formed  all  kinds  of  childish  antics,  when  they  saw 
their  general  skillfully  steering  the  frail  and  trem 
bling  river  steamer.  They  could  scarcely  believe 
their  own  eyes ;  and  many  a  night  about  the  camp 
fires  the  soldiers  afterwards  told  the  story  of  the 
general's  dangerous  trip  up  the  Sandy,  with  rations 
for  his  hungry  men. 

For  three  months  the  union  troops  remained  at 
or  near  Piketon,  often  making  short  expeditions  to 
drive  out  stray,  bands  of  rebel  marauders. 

In  the  month  of  March,  General  Garfield  deter 
mined  to  drive  out  the  rebels  who  were  posted  near 
Pound  Gap,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Cumberland 
mountains  ;  and  with  seven  hundred  men,  including 
two  hundred  cavalry,  he  made  a  forced  march  of 


l6O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

forty  miles,  and  encamped  secretly  near  the  enemy's 
quarters.  Early  next  morning,  in  a  blinding  snow 
storm,  he  sent  the  cavalry  through  the  Gap,  while 
the  infantry  clambered  up  by  a  difficult  path  to  sur 
prise  the  rebels  in  the  rear.  He  was  completely 
successful  in  surprising  the  post,  but  the  rebels 
scattered  so  fast  that  he  captured  but  few  of  them. 
They  left  valuable  stores  of  amunition  and  provisions 
behind,  of  which  he  took  possession.  The  next  day 
he  burned  the  camp  and  returned  to  his  quarters.  A 
few  days  later  he  was  ordered  to  report  with  the 
greater  part  of  his  command  at  Louisville. 

The  order  of  General  Buel,  which  he  had  thus 
obeyed  so  implicitly  and  fully,  was  dated  December 
17,  1 86 1,  and  reads  as  follows  : 

HEAD-QUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  OHIO, 

LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  December  17,  1861. 
SIR: — The  brigade,  organized  under  your  com 
mand,  is  intended  to  operate  against  the  rebel  force 
threatening,  and,  indeed,  actually  committing  depre 
dations  in  Kentucky,  through  the  valley  of  the  Big 
Sandy.  The  actual  force  of  the  enemy,  from  the  best 
information  I  can  gather,  does  not  probably  exceed 
two  thousand,  or  two  thousand  five  hundred,  though 
rumor  places  it  as  high  as  seven  thousand.  I  can 
better  ascertain  the  true  state  of  the  case  when  you 
get  on  the  ground. 

You  are  apprised  of  the  position  of  the  troops 
under  your  command.  Go  first  to  Lexington  and 
Paris,  and  place  the  4Oth  Ohio  regiment  in  such 
position  as  will  best  give  a  moral  support  to  the  peo 
ple  in  the  counties  on  the  route  to  Prestonburg 
and  Piketon,  and  oppose  any  further  advance  of  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       l6l 

enemy  on  that  route.  Then  proceed  with  the  least 
possible  delay  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sandy,  and  move, 
with  the  force  in  that  vicinity,  up  that  river  and 
drive  the  enemy  back  or  cut  him  off.  Having  done 
that,  Piketon  will  probably  be  in  the  best  position 
for  you  to  occupy  to  guard  against  future  incursions. 
Artillery  will  be  of  little,  if  any,  service  to  you  in 
that  country.  If  the  enemy  have  any,  it  will  encum 
ber  and  weaken,  rather  than  strengthen  them. 

Your  supplies  must  mainly  be  taken  up  the  river, 
and  it  ought  to  be  done  as  soon  as  possible,  while 
the  navigation  is  open.  Purchase  what  you  can  in 
the  country  through  which  you  operate.  Send  your 
requisitions  to  these  head-quarters  for  funds  and 
advance  stores,  and  to  the  Quartermasters  and  Com 
missary  at  Cincinnati  for  other  supplies. 

The  conversation  1  have  had  with  you  will  sug 
gest  more  details  than  can  be  given  here.     Report 
frequently  on  all  matters  concerning  your  command. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

D.  C.  BUEL, 

Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

v 

The  above  order  was  followed  by  a  congratulatory 
order,  dated  January  20,  1862,  which  reads  as  fol 
lows : 

HEAD-QUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  OHIO, 
LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  January  20,  1862. 

[General  Orders  No.  40.] 

The  general  commanding  takes  occasion  to  thank 

General  Garfield  and  his  troops  for  their  successful 

campaign   against   the   rebel  forces    under   General 

Marshall  on  the  Big  Sandy,  and  their  gallant  con- 

ii 


l62       THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

duct  in  battle.  They  have  overcome  formidable  dif 
ficulties  in  the  character  of  the  country,  the  condi 
tion  of  the  roads,  and  the  inclemency  of  the  season  ; 
and  without  artillery,  have,  in  several  engagements 
terminating  in  the  battle  on  Middle  Creek  on  the 
loth,  inst.,  driven  the  enemy  from  his  entrenched 
positions  and  forced  him  back  into  the  mountains 
with  the  loss  of  a  large  amount  of  baggage  and 
stores,  and  many  of  his  men  killed  or  captured. 
These  services  called  into  action  the  highest  quali 
ties  of  a  soldier,  —  fortitude,  perseverance,  courage." 

When  General  Garfield  arrived  at  Louisville,  he 
found  that  General  Buel  was  far  away  in  Tennessee, 
hurrying  to  the  assistance  of  General  Grant,  at  Pitts- 
burg  Landing.  So  General  Garfield,  obedient  to  fresh 
orders,bade  a  hasty  farewell  to  his  comrades,  and  hur 
ried  on  after  the  army.  He  overtook  General  Buel 
at  Columbia,  Tennessee,  and  was  at  once  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  2Oth  brigade,  in  the  division  of 
General  T.  J.  Wood. 

This  change  in  his  command  was  a  great  grief  to 
General  Garfield,  who  had  hoped  to  keep  the  Fortieth 
Ohio  in  his  brigade,  and  thus  be  with  his  old  friends, 
scholars  and  neighbors  throughout  the  war.  But 
from  that  time  their  paths  diverged,  and  never  united 
again  during  the  entire  contest. 

The  army,  of  which  his  new  command  formed  a 
part,  made  a  forced  march  from  Columbia  to  Savan 
nah,  on  the  Tennessee  river,  and  from  that  point 
they  were  in  great  haste  hurried  on  by  Boat  to  Pitts- 
burg  Landing.  The  battle  of  Shiloh  had  been  rag 
ing  for  more  than  a  day,  when  these  reinforcements 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       163 

arrived.  Without  rest  or  time  to  enter  camp  they 
hurried  on  to  the  field  of  battle,  and  General  Garfield's 
command  was  under  fire  during  the  final  contest 
which  gave  the  victory  to  the  federal  troops. 

The  next  day  his  brigade,  with  other  forces  under 
General  Sherman,  was  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  retreat 
ing  enemy,  and  a  short  but  hotly  contested  battle 
was  fought,  in  which  General  Garfield  was  conspicu 
ously  cool  and  brave. 

During  that  tedious  siege  of  Corinth,  which  fol 
lowed,  his  brigade  was  nearly  all  the  time  at  the  out 
posts,  and  was  engaged  often  in  skirmishes  with  the 
rebels,  and  were  with  the  first  column  that  was 
ordered  forward  when  the  town  was  evacuated  by 
Beauregard. 

In  June,  1862,  his  brigade  was  sent  to  repair  and 
protect  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad,  be 
tween  Corinth  and  Decatur,  after  which  he  advanced 
to  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  gained  no  little  credit 
for  his  skill  in  military  engineering,  connected  with 
the  fortifications. 

It  has  been  often  related  of  him  that  while  in  com 
mand  of  this  brigade,  a  fugitive  slave  came  rushing 
into  his  camp,  with  a  bloody  head,  and  apparently 
frightened  almost  to  death.  He  had  scarcely  passed 
the  head-quarters,  when  a  regular  bully  of  a  fellow 
came  riding  up,  and  with  a  volley  of  oaths  began  to 
ask  after  his  "nigger."  General  Garfield  was  not 
present,  and  he  passed  on  to  the  division  commander. 
The  division  commander  was  a  sympathizer  with  the 
theory  that  fugitive  slaves  should  be  returned  to  their 


164      THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

masters,  and  that  the  union  soldiers  should  be  made 
the  instruments  for  returning  them.  He  accordingly 
wrote  a  mandatory  order  to  General  Garfield,  in 
whose  command  the  darkey  was  supposed  to  be  hid 
ing,  telling  him  to  hunt  out  and  deliver  over  the 
property  of  the  outraged  citizen.  He  took  the  order 
and  deliberately  wrote  on  it  the  following  indorse 
ment  :  — 

"  I  respectively  but  positively  decline  to  allow  my 
command  to  search  for  or  deliver  up  any  fugitive 
slaves.  I  conceive  that  they  'are  here  for  quite 
another  purpose.  The  command  is  open,  and  no  ob 
stacles  will  be  placed  in  the  way  of  search." 

The  indorsement  frightened  his  staff  officers,  and 
they  expected  that,  if  returned,  the  result  would  be 
that  the  general  would  be  court-martialed.  He 
simply  replied,  "The  matter  may  as  well  be  tested 
first  as  last.  Right  is  right,  and  I  do  not  propose  to 
mince  matters  at  all.  My  soldiers  are  here  for  other 
purposes  than  hunting  and  returning  fugitive  slaves. 
My  people,  on  the  Western  Reserve  of  Ohio,  did  not 
send  my  boys  and  myself  down  here  to  do  that  kind 
of  business,  and  they  will  back  me  up  in  my  action." 
He  would  not  alter  the  indorsement,  and  the  order 
was  returned.  Nothing  ever  came  of  the  matter 
further. 

June  i$th,  General  Garfield  was  detailed  to  sit  in 
a  trial  by  court-martial  of  a  lieutenant  of  the  Fifty- 
Eighth  Indiana  volunteers.  His  skill  in  that  case, 
combined  with  his  memory  of  judicial  decisions, 
caused  the  officers,  sitting  with  him  in  the  court, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       165 

to  commend  him  for  his  signal  ability  in  such  mat 
ters.  On  July  5th,  he  was  again  detailed  to  act  as 
president  of  the  important  court-martial  detailed  to 
try  Colonel  Turchin,  of  the  Nineteenth  Illinois.  Of 
that  court,  General  Garfield's  adjutant-general,  Cap 
tain  P.  T.  Swain,  acted  as  judge  advocate. 

July  3Oth,  he  was  given  a  leave  of  absence,  owing 
to  the  return  of  the  fever  and  ague,  which  had  not 
disturbed  him  until  that  season,  from  the  spring 
when  he  left  the  canal.  For  two  months  he  lay  at 
Hiram,  dangerously  sick,  and  several  important  com 
mands  were  offered  him,  which  his  illness  compelled 
him  to  decline.  It  was  during  this  summer  that  he 
paid  for  the  small  wooden  dwelling  in  Hiram,  which 
was  afterwards  his  home. 

As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel  he  was  ordered 
by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  report  to  the  War  De 
partment,  at  Washington.  This  he  did  about  the 
25th  of  September.  His  fame  as  a  jurist  in  martial 
trials  had  reached  Washington,  and  he  was  ordered 
to  sit  on  the  court  of  inquiry  in  the  case  of  General 
McDowell.  At  one  time  he  was  ordered  to  proceed 
to  South  Carolina,  with  General  Hunter,  but  circum 
stances  intervened  to  keep  them  in  Washington. 

November  25,  1862,  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
court  in  the  celebrated  trial  of  General  Fitz-John 
Porter  for  the  failure  to  co-operate  with  General 
Pope,  at'  the  battle  of  Bull  Run.  At  that  trial  he 
had  a  delicate  and  important  duty  to  perform,  and 
did  his  work  with  such  wisdom  as  to  secure  the  un- 


l66      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

solicited   compliment   from    its   president  that   "  he 
must  have  been  a  great  lawyer  in  Ohio." 

During  his  engagements  at  Washington,  he  was 
called  home  by  the  illness  and  death  of  his  only 
child.  It  was  a  sad  blow  to  a  heart  so  tender  as  his  ; 
and  it  is  said  of  him  that  while  he  held  the  body  of 
the  sweet  little  child  in  his  arms,  after  its  death,  he 
remarked  how  inappropriate  to  everything  about  him 
was  his  military  uniform,  and  of  .how  little  conse 
quence,  compared  with  the  love  and  peace  of  a  happy 
home,  were  the,  honors  which  men  could  bestow. 

While  he  was  at  home,  in  the  months  of  August 
and  September,  as  already  stated,  and  confined  to  his 
bed,  there  was  no  little  agitation  going  on  in  that 
congressional  district,  over  a  successor  to  the  re 
nowned  anti-slavery  champion,  Joshua  R.  Giddings. 
The  excitement  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Giddings  had  been  defeated  in  the  nominating  con 
vention,  two  years  before,  by  some  means,  and  his 
friends  laid  all  the  blame  on  the  successful  candidate. 
They  therefore  determined  upon  preventing  the  re- 
nornination  of  Mr.  Giddings'  successor.  In  their 
canvas  for  a  candidate  who  would  be  sure  to  carry 
the  convention,  as  there  was  no  hope  that  the  health 
of  Mr.  Giddings  would  admit  of  his  return  to  Con 
gress,  even  if  he  could  have  left  his  post  as  consul- 
general  of  Canada,  they  hit  upon  General  Garfield, 
who  at  that  time  was  recovering,  but  whose  return  to 
the  malarial  districts  was  considered  dangerous.  His 
name  was  one  which  was  sure  to  overcome  any  com 
bination  or  opposition.  It  does  not  appear  that  they 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       l6/ 

consulted  with  General  Garfield  at  all,  but  very  care 
fully  concealed  their  design,  both  from  him  and  the 
opposition.  On  the  presentation  of  his  name  to  the 
Republican  congressional  convention,  in  September, 
it  was  received  with  all  the  enthusiasm  that  the 
friends  of  the  measure  had  expected.  He  was  the 
single  man  on  the  "  Western  Reserve "  against 
whom  it  would  be  a  farce  to  make  any  opposition. 

The  movement  did  not  at  first  meet  with  General 
Garfield's  approval,  and  he  reserved  his  decision 
whether  he  should  refuse  the  honor,  until  he  could 
confer  with  President  Lincoln.  His  pay  as  a  general 
was  much  larger  than  that  of  a  congressman ;  he 
had  entered  the  war  to  stay,  and  he  disliked  to  leave 
it. 

On  the  other  hand,  his  health  might  break  down 
if  he  returned  to  the  South,  and  it  was  probable  that 
the  war  would  be  closed  in  the  year  which  would  in 
tervene  between  his  election  and  the  opening  of  the 
Congress  to  which  he  would  be  chosen. 

When  he  visited  the  President,  and  told  him  the 
circumstances,  Mr.  Lincoln  bluntly  remarked  that 
there  were  generals  enough  already  and  plenty  more 
to  be  had,  but  the  number  of  congressmen  who  un 
derstood  the  needs  of  the  country  were  few,  and  if 
the  rebellion  continued,  it  was  likely  to  be  lessened 
by  the  death  or  enlistment  of  good  men.  Other 
members  of  the  Cabinet  giving  him  the  sajne  advice, 
he  silently  acquiesced  in  the  nomination,  and  was 
elected  with  unheard  of  unanimity. 

In  January  he  had  so  far  recovered  that  he  was 


1 68      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

ordered  into  thefield,  and  directed  to  report  to  Gen 
eral  Rosecrans,  at  Murfreesboro'.  Immediately  after 
his  arrival  he  was  appointed  chief  of  staff  to  General 
Rosecrans,  then  commanding  the  army  of  the  Cum 
berland. 

The  writer  of  the  history  of  the  Forty-Second 
Ohio  regiment,  whose  sources  of  information  were 
so  trustworthy,  and  whose  gilts  as  a  writer  were  so 
apparent  as  to  lead  to  his  selection,  by  that  regiment 
of  students,  as  their  historian,  wrote,  in  1875,  °f 
General  Garfield's  share  in  the  campaigns  of  the 
army  of  the  Cumberland,  as  follows : 

"  He  was  assigned  to  duty  as  chief  of  staff  of  the 
army  of  the  Cumberland,  in  place  of  the  lamented 
Colonel  Garesche,  who  had  been  killed  in  the  battle 
of  Stone  river.  Early  in  the  spring  of  that  year 
Captain  D.  G.  Swain,  his  adjutant-general  since  the 
previous  April,  was  directed  to  organize  a  Bureau  of 
Military  Information.  By  a  system  of  police  and 
scout  reports,  very  full  and  trustworthy  information 
was  obtained  of  the  organization,  strength,  and  posi 
tion  of  the  enemy's  forces. 

Early  in  June  the  general  commanding  required 
each  general  of  a  corps  and  division  of  the  army  of 
the  Cumberland,  to  report  his  opinions,  in  writing,  in 
reference  to  an  early  or  immediate  advance  against 
the  forces  of  General  Bragg.  Seventeen  general 
officers  submitted  written  opinions  on  that  subject. 
Most  of  them  were  adverse  to  any  early  movement, 
and  nearly  all  advised  against  an  immediate  advance. 
General  Garfield  presented  to  the  commanding  gen- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       169 

eral  an  analysis  and  review  of  these  opinions,  and 
urged  an  immediate  movement  against  the  enemy. 
For  more  than  five  months  the  army  of  Rosecrans 
had  lain  inactive  at  Murfreesboro',  while  the  com 
manding  general  had  haggled  and  bandied  words 
with  the  War  Department.  As  chief  of  staff,  General 
Garfield  did  all  that  adroit  diplomacy  could  do  to 
soften  these  asperities,  and  meanwhile  give  all  his 
energy  to  the  work  of  preparing  the  army  for  an  ad 
vance,  and  ascertaining  the  strength  of  the  enemy. 

His  Bureau  of  Military  Information  was  the  most 
perfect  machine  of  the  kind  organized  in  the  field 
during  the  war.  When  at  last  June  came,  the  Gov 
ernment  and  the  people  demanding  an  advance,  and 
the  seventeen  subordinate  generals  of  Rosecrans 
advising  against  it,  the  analysis  of  the  situation 
drawn  up  and  submitted  by  General  Garfield,  met 
and  overthrew  them  all.  Speaking  of  this  letter, 
Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid  in  his  '  Ohio  in  the  War/  says  : 
'  This  report  we  venture  to  pronounce  the  ablest 
military  document  'known  to  have  been  submitted  by 
a  chief  of  staff  to  his  superior  during  the  war.' 
This  is  high  praise,  but  it  is  history. 

Twelve  days  after  it  was  submitted,"  the  army 
moved,  —  against  the  will  and  opinion  of  Gene. ''I 
Crittenden  and  nearly  all  Rosecrans'  leading  officers. 
It  marched  into  the  Tullahoma  campaign,  one  of  the 
most  perfectly  planned  and  ably  executed  movements 
of  the  war.  The  lateness  of  the  start,  caused  by  the 
objections  which  General  Garfield's  letter  finally 
overcame,  alone  saved  Bragg's  army  from  destruction. 


I7O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

There  was  a  certain  work  to  do,  which  might  as  well 
have  been  begun  on  the  ist  of  June  as  the  24th. 
Had  it  been  begun  on  the  first  of  these  dates,  Bragg's 
army  might,  in  all  probability,  have  been  destroyed. 
As  it  was,  the  heavy  rains  intervened  and  saved  him 
from  pursuit. 

With  his  military  reputation  thus  strengthened, 
General  Garfield  went  with  his  chief  into  the  battle 
of  Chickamauga.  His  influence  over  Rosecrans  h?  d 
by  this  time  become  almost  supreme.  His  clear 
and  comprehensive  mind  grasped  every  detail,  and 
his  opinions  were  invariably  consulted  on  all  impor 
tant  questions.  He  wrote  many  orders  upon  his 
own  judgment,  submitting  them  to  Rosecrans  for 
approval  or  alteration.  On  the  field  of  Chickamauga, 
he  wrote  every  order  except  one,  and  that  one  was 
the  fatal  order  to  General  Wood  which  ruined  Rose 
crans'  right  wing  and  lost  the  battle.  The  order 
from  Rosecrans  to  Wood,  as  the  latter  interpreted  it, 
required  him  to  move  his  command  behind  another 
division,  leaving  a  wide  gap  in  the  line  of  McCook's 
corps,  which  held  the  right.  Wood  says  that  he 
knew  this  move  would  be  fatal,  but  it  was  ordered 
and  he  felt  impelled  to  execute  it.  Longstreet  saw 
'  ^e  blunder,  hurled  Hood's  division  into  the  gap, 
and  within  an  hour  McCook's  corps  was  broken  and 
streaming,  a  disorganized  mob  of  men,  back  to  Chat 
tanooga,  Trying  vainly  to  check  the  tide  of  retreat, 
General  Garfield  was  swept  with  his  chief  back  be 
yond  Rossville.  But  the  chief  of  staff  could  not 
concede  that  defeat  had  been  entire.  He  heard  the 


PLAN  OF  CHI€KAMAUGA  BATTLE-FIELD. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       I /I 

roar  of  Thomas'  guns  on  the  left,  and  gained  per 
mission  of  Rosecrans  to  go  round  to  that  quarter  and 
find  the  army  of  the  Cumberland.  While  the  com 
mander  busied  himself  with  preparing  a  refuge  at 
Chattanooga  for  his  routed  army,  his  chief  of  staff 
went  back,  accompanied  only  by  a:  staff  officer  and  a 
few  orderlies,  to  find  whatever  part  of  the  army  still 
held  its  ground,  and  save  what  there  was  left.  It  was 
a  perilous  ride.  Long  before  he  reached  Thomas  one 
of  his  orderlies  was  killed.  ,  Almost  alone  he  pushed 
on  over  the  obstructed  road,  through  pursuers  and 
pursued,  found  the  heroic  Thomas  encircled  by 
fire,  but  still  firm,  told  him  of  the  disaster  on  the 
right,  and  explained  how  he  could  withdraw  his  right 
wing  and  fix  it  upon  a  new  line  to  meet  Longstreet's 
column,  which  had  turned  the  right  of  Thomas'  position 
and  was  marching  in  heavy  column  upon  his  rear.  The 
movement  was  made  just  in  time;  but  Thomas'  line 
was  too  short,  it  would  not  reach  to  the  base  of  the 
mountain.  Longstreet  saw  the  gap,  drove  his  column 
into  it  and  would  have  struck  Thomas'  line  fatally  in 
the  rear,  but  in  that  critical  moment  General  Gordon 
Granger  came  up  with  Steadman's  division,  which 
moved  in  heavy  column,  threw  itself  upon  Long- 
.^treet,  and  after  a  terrific  struggle,  drove  him  back. 
The  dead  and  wounded  lay  in  heaps  where  those  two 
columns  met,  but  the  army  ol  General  Thomas  was 
saved.  As  night  closed  in  upon  the  heroic  army  of 
the  Cumberland,  Generals  Garfield  and  Granger, 
on  foot  and  enveloped  in  smoke,  directed  the  loading 
and  pointing  of  a  battery  of  Napoleon  guns,  whose 


1/2       THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

flash,  as  they  thundered  after  the  retreating  column 
of  the  assailants,  was  the  last  light  that  shown  upon 
the  battle  field  of  Chickamauga.  The  struggle  was 
over,  and  the  rebels  retired  repulsed.  Had  the  two 
shattered  corps  of  McCook  and  Crittenden  that  night 
been  brought  upon  the  field  and  enabled  Thomas  to 
hold  his  ground,  there  might  have  been  a  second 
day  to  that  battle  which  would  have  changed  its 
complexion  in  history. 

The  battle  of  Chickamauga  practically  closed 
General  Garfield's  military  career.  About  four  weeks 
after  the  engagement  he  was  sent  by  Rosecrans  to 
Washington  to  report  minutely  to  the  President  and 
the  War  Department  fhe  position,  deeds,  resources, 
and  capabilities  of  the  army  at  Chattanooga.  He 
went,  had  frequent  lengthy  interviews  with  the 
President  and  Secretary  Stanton,  and  thus,  point  by 
point,  made  a  most  thorough  and  satisfactory  report. 
Meanwhile,  General  Garfield  had  been  promoted  to 
a  major-generalship  of  volunteers  'for  gallant  and 
meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,' 
to  take  rank  from  the  iQth  of  September-,  1863. 
Rosecrans  had  been  removed  from  the  command  of 
the  army  at  Chattanooga  and  General  Grant  appointed 
to  his  place. 

General  Garfield  was  now  called  to  a  new  field  of 
duty.  In  October  of  the  year  previous,  while  the 
Forty-Second  was  retreating  from  Cumberland  Gap, 
the  people  of  the  Nineteenth  Congressional  District 
of  Ohio  had  elected  him  as  their  representative  to 
the  Thirty- Eighth  Congress. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       1/3 

He  was  a  major-general,  young,  popular  in  the 
army,  and  in  high  favor  at  Washington  ;  he  was  poor, 
and  his  army  pay  was  double  the  slender  salary  of  a 
Congressman,  but  he  had  been  chosen  by  the  people 
of  his  district  as  their  representative  .nder  circum 
stances  which  in  his  judgment  would  not  permit  him 
to  decline  the  trust  General  Thomas  offered  him 
the  command  of  a  corps ;  but  Lincoln  urged  him  to 
resign  his  commission  and  come  to  Congress.  The 
President  was  strenuous,  and  his  advice  prevailed." 
There  was  no  want  of  major-generals,  but  there  was 
need  of  all  the  zeal,  courage  and  ability  that  could 
be  assembled  in  Congress.  So  his  friends  argued, 
and  the  sequel  proved  the  wisdom  of  their  demand 
upon  him.  Yielding  to  this,  he  resigned  his  com 
mission  on  the  5th  of  December,  1863,  having  served 
in  the  army  more  than  a  year  after  his  election  to 
Congress,  and  took  his  seat  on  the  same  day  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  where  he  has  been  in 
continuous  service  since  that  day. 

The  influence  of  General  Garfield  upon  the  Forty- 
Second  regiment  was  unbounded.  As  colonel,  not 
less  than  as  professor  and  principal  of  a  collegiate 
school,  he  evinced  a  rare  and  extraordinary  power 
In  controlling,  interesting  and  inspiring  young  men. 
It  was  due  largely  to  his  enthusiastic  efforts  that  the 
regiment  was  made  up  of  some  of  the  best  material 
that  Ohio  sent  into  the  field.  The  careful,  laborious 
education,  the  discipline,  the  quickening  of  individual 
self-respect  that  the  regiment  underwent  at  his 
hands  while  in  Camp  Chase,  were  never  lost  upon  its 


174      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

men.  Long  after  he  had  gone  to  other  duties,  the 
recollection  of  his  words  was  a  source  of  inspiration 
to  the  men ;  and  as  they  went  into  their  first  fight  at 
Middle  Creek,  against  overwhelming  numbers,  with 
serene  confidence,  because  their  trusted  colonel  had 
sent  them,  so  afterwards  they  fought  and  marched  as 
though  conscious  that  the  eye  of  their  first  com 
mander  was  still  upon  them." 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       175 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

REVIEW  OF  HIS  MILITARY  CAREER. 

FITNESS  FOB  MILITARY  AFFAIRS. —HOW  HE  BECAME  FAMILIAR  WITH 
INFANTRY  TACTICS. — CARRIES  THE  CHIEF  CHARACTERISTICS  OF 
HIS  BOYHOOD  INTO  ARMY  LIFE.  —HIS  KNOWLEDGE  OF  LAW.  —MIL 
ITARY  TRIALS.  — THE  TULLAHOMA  CAMPAIGN.  — HIS  ABILITY  AS  AN 
ENGINEER.  —  HIS  GREAT  PLAN  FOR  AN  ONWARD  MOVEMENT  FROM 
MURFREESBORO'. — HIS  OFFICIAL  REPORT.  — COMPLIMENT  FROM 
GENERAL  ROSECRANS.  — HIS  RESIGNATION. 

GLANCING  back  upon  General  Garfield's  military 
career,  with  the  accumulated  facts  of  history  adding 
their  testimony  to  the  high  estimate  made  of  him  in 
1863,  the  most  conservative  writer  must  be  aston 
ished  at  the  ability  displayed  by  him.  It  will  also 
appear,  that  while  the  fact  that  the  Secretary  of  War 
was  from  Ohio,  and  might  be  predisposed  to  observe 
the  merits  of  a  soldier  from  the  same  State,  yet  all 
the  promotions  which  came  to  him  were  clearly  and 
undisputedly  deserved  by  him,  and  for  the  national 
good  He  had  a  natural  fitness,  in  some  way,  for 
military  affairs.  He  seemed  to  be  experienced  in  all 
the  emergencies  that  met  him ;  and  everywhere  acted, 
as  his  associates  testify,  "like  an  old  soldier." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  much  of  this  success 
and  appearance  of  familiarity  was  due  to  his  early 
habits.  He  had  accustomed  himself  to  occupy  all  his 


THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC    SERVICES 

time  in  some  profitable  work  or  study.  He  had,  from 
the  time  he  possessed  but  one  book  to  study,  schooled 
himself  to  thoroughly  understand  whatever  he  was 
given  to  learn. 

Place  these  two  characteristics  together,  and  notice 
its  bearing  on  his  military  usefulness.  A  scrutiny  of 
the  history  of  those  early  days  of  the  war  shows  that 
he  began  to  study  military  works  as. early  as  his  days 
in  the  Senate  of  Ohio  ;  and  that  from  the  day  that 
Governor  Dennison  notified  him  of  his  appointment 
as  a  lieutenant-colonel,  he  bent  his  whole  energy  to 
ward  gaining  an  understanding  of  the  art  and  rules 
of  war  He  applied  himself  closely  to  the  practice 
of  infantry  tactics,  and  studied  intently  the  directions 
for  movements  in  regimental,  battalion,  and  brigade 
drill.  When  his  regiment  began  to  assemble  at 
Camp  Chase,  near  Columbus,  he  was  able  to  estab 
lish  an  officer's  school,  and  to  teach  the  most  import 
ant  matters  himself.  His  confidence  in  himself  came 
from  his  consciousness  of  having  thoroughly  mas 
tered  the  subject.  He  studied  military  engineering 
in  the  same  manner  ;  and  from  that  went  to  the  plans 
of  successful  campaigns  made  by  great  soldiers  of  the 
past. 

To  those  must  be  added  the  other  prominent  marks 
in  his  character,  and  a  solution  of  his  sudden  rise  is 
explained.  The  same  active  and  obedient  imagina 
tion,  which  in  his  boyhood  turned  the  orchard  trees 
into  Indian  chiefs,  made  the  fields  of  wheat  a  host  of 
buccaneers,  and  the  bowing  young  maples  an  atten 
tive  audience,  served  him  in  his  study  of  military 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

movements,  by  supplying  him  with  squads  and  regi 
ments  to  drill,  which  were  invisible  to  the  natural 
eye  and  even-  to  the  imagination  of  many  persons  in 
his  situation.  He  could  give  the  orders  and  see  the 
evolutions,  and  this  mental  practice  made  his  appear 
ance  on  his  first  trial  seem  like  that  of  a  veteran. 

But  combined  with  all  the  traits  already  mentioned 
was  that  sterling  truthfulness,  which  has  been  men 
tioned  as  a  characteristic  of  his  boyhood.  It  won 
for  him  the  respect  of  his  superiors  and  the  love  of 
his  inferiors.  His  word  was  implicitly  trusted.  To 
this  known  characteristic  was  due,  in  a  great  meas 
ure,  the  confidence  which  was  placed  in  the  Bureau 
of  Information,  which  was  managed  by  Major  Swain, 
under  General  Garfield's  direction.  He  misrepre 
sented  nothing.  He  over-estimated  nothing.  Be 
fore  him  the  lying  scouts,  'spies,  fugitives,  slaves  and 
captives  seemed  to  be  in  awe  of  his  integrity ;  and, 
as  one  of  his  staff  has  said,  "  he  impelled  them  to 
tell  the  truth  by  the  very  force  of  his  presence  and 
example."  The  information  he  obtained  of  the  ene 
my's  movements  and  numbers  was  so  correct  that 
great  armies  moved  on  to  victories,  led  by  his  direc 
tions. 

His  thorough  knowledge  of  law  and  his  adminis 
trative  ability,  combined  with  the  traits  already  men 
tioned,  caused  his  words  and  decisions  to  be  respect 
ed  in  martial  courts.  He  had  been  thorough  and 
honest  with  himself  in  his  studies,  and  one  who  is 
honest  and  sincere  with  himself  is  honest  and  sin- 

12 


THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

cere  with  all  the  world.     It  is  a  rule  that  works  both 
ways. 

But  the  crown  of  all  his  military  achievements, 
and  one  which  our  successful  general  have  all  pro 
nounced  to  be  a  masterly  stroke  of  military  genius, 
is  found  in  his  plan  of  the  Tullahoma  campaign, 
from  Murfreesboro',  by  the  army  of  the  Cumberland. 
All  testify  that,  had  General  Rosecrans  moved  at 
once,  instead  of  hesitating  to  hear  the  advice  of 
other  generals,  who  opposed  it,  General  Bragg's 
command  must  have  been  captured,  and  the  rebel 
lion  cut  in  twain,  a  year  before  Sherman  marched  to 
the  sea. 

As  it  was,  the  campaign  was  an  important  and 
successful  movement,  and  gave  our  armies  many 
advantages  in  the  movements  which  Grant  after 
wards  made. 

Whitelaw  Reid,  in  his  great  work  on  "  Ohio  in  the 
War,"  has  printed  entire  the  paper  submitted  by 
General  Garfield  to  the  commanding  general,  at  that 
time,  and  it  deserves  a  place  in  every  biography  of 
General  Garfield. 

General  Rosecrans  had  been  waiting  five  months 
for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  attack  General  Bragg, 
and  had  many  foolish  quarrels  with  the  War  Depart 
ment  on  account  of  his  delay  and  strenuous  demands 
for  cavalry  and  stores.  But,  at  last,  under  the  urgent 
advice  of  General  Garfield,  his  chief  of  staff,  he 
asked  the  advice  of  the  generals  in  command  of 
divisions  in  the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  about  an 
advance.  All  advised  against  it.  General  Garficld 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  1 79 

was  in  favor  of  an  immediate  move,  and  gave  his 
reasons  for  it.  His  advice  was  taken,  with  the  good 
results  already  mentioned.  The  document  gives 
such  an  insight  into  the  condition  of  affairs,  and 
exhibits  so  strikingly  General  Garfi  eld's  customary 
caution,  foresight,  and  logical  arrangement,  that  it  i 
given  entire. 

HEAD-QUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND. 

MURFREESBORO',  June    12,  1864. 

General :  —  In  your  confidential  letter  of  the  8th  inst. ,  to  the  corps 
and  division  commanders  and  generals  of  cavalry,  of  this  army,  there 
were  substantially  five  questions  propounded,  for  their  consideration 
and  answer,  viz. : 

1.  Has  the  enemy  of  our  front  been  materially  weakened  by  de 
tachments  to  Johnston,  or  elsewhere  ? 

2.  Can  this  army  advance  on  him  at  this  time,  with  strong,  reason 
able  chances  of  fighting  a  great  and  successful  battle  ? 

3.  Do  you  think  an  advance  of  our  army  at  present  likely  to  pre 
vent  additional  reinforcements  being  sent  against  General  Grant  by 
the  enemy  in  our  front  ? 

4.  Do  you  think  an  immediate  advance  of  the  army  advisable  ? 

5.  Do  you  think  an  early  advance  advisable  ? 

Many  of  the  answers  to  these  questions  are  not  categorical,  and 
cannot  be  clearly  set  down  either  as  affirmative  or  negative.  Espe 
cially  in  answer  to  the  first  question  there  is  much  indefiniteness,  re 
sulting  from  the  difference  of  judgment  as  to  how  great  a  detachment 
could  be  considered  a  "  material  reduction  of  Bragg's  strength."  For 
example,  one  officer  thinks  it  has  been  reduced  ten  thousand,  and  not 
"  materially  weakened." 

The  answers  to  the  second  question  are  modified,  in  some  instances, 
by  the  opinion  that  the  rebels  will  fall  back  behind  the  Tennessee 
river,  and  thus  no  battle  can  be  fought,  either  successful  or  unsuc 
cessful. 

So  far  as  these  opinions  can  be  stated,  in  tabular  form,  they  will 
stand  thus :  — 


ISO      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC    SERVICES 

"  YES.  No. 

Answer  to  first  question,         .         •        .        .        6  n 

Answer  to  second  question 2  n 

Answer  to  third  question 4  10 

Answer  to  fourth  question,         ,         . .      •       -.  15 

Answer  to  fifth  question,         .        .    •    .        V  2 

On  the  fifth  question,  three  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  this  army 
ought  to  advance  as  soon  as  Vicksburg  falls,  should  that  event  hap 
pen.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  reasons  assigned  why  we 
should  not,  at  this  time,  advance  upon  the  enemy :  — 

1.  With  Hooker's  army  defeated,  and  Grant's  bending  all  its  ener 
gies  in  a  yet  undecided  struggle,  it  is  bad  policy  to  risk  our  only  re 
serve  army  to  the  chances  of  a  general  engagement.     A  failure  here 
would  have  most  disastrous  effect  on  our  lines  of  communication,  and 
on  politics  in  the  loyal  States. 

2.  We  should  be  compelled  to  fight  the  enemy  on  his  own  ground, 
or  follow  him  in  a  fruitless  chase ;  or,  if  we  attempted  to  out-flank 
him  and  turn  his  position,  we  should  expose  our  line  of  communica 
tion,  and  run  the  risk  of  being  pushed  back  into  a  rough  country,  well- 
known  to  the  enemy  and  little  to  ourselves. 

3.  In  case  the  enemy  should  fall  back  without  accepting  battle,  he 
could  make  our  advance  very  slow,  and  with  a  comparatively  small 
force  posted  in  the  gaps  of  the  mountains,  could  hold  us  back  while  he 
crossed  the  Tennessee  river,  where  he  would  be  measurably  secure, 
and  free  to  send  reinforcements  to  Johnston 

His  forces  in  East  Tennessee  could  seriously  harrass  our  left  flank 
and  constantly  disturb  our  communications. 

4.  The  withdrawal  of  Burnside's  ninth  army  corps  deprives  us  of 
an  important  reserve  and  flank  protection,  thus  increasing  the  difficulty 
of  an  advance. 

5.  General  Hurlburt  has  sent  the  most  of  his  force  away  to  Gener 
al  Grant,  thus  leaving  West  Tennessee  uncovered,  and  laying  our 
right  flank  and  rear  open  to  raids  of  the  enemy. 

The  following  incidental  opinions  are  expressed  :  — 

1.  One  officer  thinks  it  probable  that  the  enemy  has  been  strength 
ened,  rather  than  weakened,  and  that  he  (the  enemy)  would  have 
reasonable  prospect  of  victory  in  a  general  battle. 

2.  One  officer  believes  the  result  of  a  general  battle  would  be 
doubtful,  a  victory  barren,  and  a  defeat  most  disastrous. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       l8l 

3.  Three  officers  believe  that  an  advance  would  bring  on  a  general 
engagement.     Three  others  believe  it  would  not. 

4.  Two  officers  express  the  opinion  that  the  chances  of  success  in 
a  general  battle  are  nearly  equal.   . 

5.  One  officer  expresses  the  belief  that  our  army  has  reached  its 
maximum  strength  and  efficiency,  and  that  inactivity  will  seriously  im 
pair  its  effectiveness. 

6.  Two  officers  say  that  an  increase  of  our  cavalry,  by  about  six 
thousand  men,  would  materially  change  the  aspect  of  our  affairs,  and 
give  us  a  decided  advantage. 

In  addition  to  the  above  summary,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  an 
estimate  of  the  strength  of  Bragg's  army,  gathered  from  all  the  data 
I  have  been  able  to  obtain,  including  the  estimate  of  the  general  com 
manding,  in  his  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Stone  river,  and  facts 
gathered  from  prisoners,  deserters  and  refugees,  and  from  rebel  news 
papers.  After  the  battle,  Bragg  consolidated  many  of  his  decimated 
regiments  and  irregular  organizations  ;  and  at  the  time  of  his  sending 
reinforcements  to  Johnston,  his  army  had  reached  the  greate>t  effective 
strength.  It  consisted  of  five  divisions  of  infantry,  composed  of 
ninety-four  regiments,  and  two  independent  battalions  of  sharp-shoot 
ers, —  say  ninety  regiments.  By  a  law  of  the  confederate  Congress, 
regiments  are  consolidated  when  their  effective  strength  falls  below 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Even  the  regiments  formed  by  such  con 
solidation  (which  may  reasonably  be  regarded  as  the  fullest)  must  fall 
below  five  hundred.  I  am  satisfied  that  four  hundred  is  a  large  esti 
mate  of  the  average  stiength. 

The  force,  then,  would  be  :  — 

Infantry,  95  regiments,  400  each, 
Cavalry,  35  regiments,  say,  500  each, 
Artillery,  26  batteries,  say  100  each,     . 

Total,  .  ..''••  .  .  .  .  58,600 
This  force  has  been  reduced  by  detachments  to  Johnston.  It  is  as 
well  known  as  we  can  ever  expect  to  ascertain  such  facts,  that  three 
brigades  have  gone  trom  McConn's  division,  and  two  or  three  from 
Breckinridge's,  —  say  two  It  is  clear  th?*  there  are  now  but  four 
infantry  divisions  in  Bragg's  army,  the  fourth  being  composed  of 
fragments  of  McConn's  and  Breckinridge's  divisions,  and  must  be 
much  smaller  than  the  average.  Deducting  the  five  brigades,  and 


1 82      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

supposing  them  composed  of  only  four  regiments  each,  which  is  below 
the  general  average,  it  gives  an  infantry  reduction  of  twenty  regiments, 
four  hundred  each  —  eight  thousand  —  leaving  a  remainder  of  thirty 
thousand.  It  is  clearly  ascertained  that  at  least  two  brigades  of  cav 
alry  have  been  sent  from  Van  Dorn's  command  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
it  is  asserted  in  the  Chattanooga  Rebel,  of  June  i  ith,  that  General 
Morgan's  command  has  been  permanently  detached  and  sent  to  East 
ern  Kentucky.  It  is  not  certainly  known  how  large  his  division  is, 
but  it  is  known  to  contain  at  least  two  brigades.  Taking  this  mini 
mum  as  the  fact,  we  have  a  cavalry  reduction  of  four  brigades. 

Taking  the  lowest  estimate,  four  regiments  to  the  brigade,  we  have 
a  reduction,  by  detachment,  of  sixteen  regiments,  five  hundred  each, 
leaving  his  present  effective  cavalry  force  nine  thousand  five  hundred. 
With  the  nine  brigades  of  the  two  arms  thus  detached,  it  will  be  safe 
to  say  there  have  gone, — 

Six  batteries,  80  men  each,    ...       ,  ".        .            480 

Leaving  him  20  batteries,        .  •        »"  .        .         .     2,120 

Making  a  total  reduction  of          .        •  •        •         16,480 

Leaving,  of  the  three  arms,       .         .  .        .         ,  41,680 

In  this  estimate  of  Bragg's  strength,  I  have  placed  all  doubts  in  his 
favor,  and  I  have  no  question  that  my  estimate  is  considerably  beyond 
the  truth  General  Sheridan,  who  hns  taken  great  pains  to  collect 
evidence  on  this  point,  places  it  considerably  below  these  figures.  But 
assuming  these  to  be  correct,  and  granting  what  is  still  more  improba 
ble,  that  Bragg  would  abandon  all  his  rear  posts,  and  entirely  neglect 
his  communications,  and  could  bring  his  last  man  into  battle,  I  next 
ask :  What  have  we  with  which  to  oppose  him  ? 

The  last  official  report  of  effective  strength,  now  on  file  in  the  office 
of  the  assistant  adjutant  general,  is  dated  from  June  nth,  and  shows 
that  we  have  in  this  department,  omitting  all  officers  and  enlisted  men 
attached  to  department,  corps,  division  and  brigade  head-quarters  :  — 

1.  Infantry  —  One  hundred  and  seventy- three  regiments  ;  ten  bat 
talions  sharp-shooters ;  four  battalions  pioneers ;  and  one  regiment  of 
engineers  and  mechanics,  with  a  total  effective  strength  of  seventy 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighteen. 

2.  Cavalry  —  Twenty-seven  regiments  and  one  unattachee  com 
pany,  eleven  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  thirteen. 

3.  Artillery  —  Forty-seven  and  a  half  batteries  field  artillery,  con- 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  I  83 

sisting  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  guns  and  five  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  men,  making  a  general  total  of  eighty-seven  thousand  eight 
hundred. 

Leaving  out  all  commissioned  officers,  this  army  represents  eighty- 
two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  bayonets  and  sabers. 
This  report  does  not  include  the  Fifth  Iowa  cavalry,  six  hundred 
strong,  lately  armed  ;  nor  the  First  Wisconsin  cavalry  ;  nor  Coburn's 
brigade  of  infantry,  now  arriving  ;  nor  the  two  thousand  three  hundred 
and  ninety-four  convalescents,  now  on  light  duty  in  "  Fortress  Mon 
roe." 

There  are  detached  from  this  force  as  follows  :  — 

At  Galatin,            .        .  -:'«        .     ".  .  -    .  969 

At  Carthage,     .....        .  .  .  1,149 

At  Fort  Donelson,         .        .        »        .  ;  .       ..  1,485 

At  Clarkesville,         .        .         .        .    ,    ,  «'  .  1,138 

At  Nashville,         .        .        .        .        ,  '»       -,  7>292 

At  Franklin,     ..»...'..  900 

At  Lavergne,         .        ,        .        .        ,  .        .  2,117 


Total, 


With  these  posts  as  they  are,  and  leaving  two  thousand  five  hundred 
efficient  men,  in  additicn  to  the  two  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ninety-four  convalescents,  to  hold  the  works  at  this  place,  there  will 
be  left  sixty  -five  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  bayonets  and 
sabers  to  show,  against  Bragg's  forty-one  thousand  six  hundred  and 
eighty. 

I  beg  leave,  also,  to  submit  the  following  considerations  :  — 

i  .  Bragg's  army  is  weaker  now  than  it  has  been  since  the  battle  of 
Stone  river,  or  is  likely  to  be,  at  present,  while  our  army  has  reached 
its  maximum  strength,  and  we  have  no  right  to  expect  reinforcements 
for  several  months,  if  at  all. 

2.  Whatever  be  the  result  at  Vicksburg,  the  determination  of  its 
fate  will  give  large  reinforcements  to  Bragg.  If  Grant  is  successful, 
his  army  will  require  many  weeks  to  recover  from  the  shock  and  strain 
of  his  late  campaign,  while  Johnston  will  send  back  to  Bragg  a  force 
sufficient  to  insure  the  bafety  of  Tennessee.  If  Grant  fails,  the  same 
result  will  inevitably  follow,  so  far  as  Bragg's  army  is  concerned. 


184     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

3.  No  man  can  predict,  with  a  certainty,  the  results  of  any  battle, 
however  great  the  disparity  in  numbers.     Such  results  are  in  the  hand 
of  God.     But,  reviewing  the  question  in  the  light  ol  human  calcula 
tion,  I  refuse  to  entertain  a  doubt  that  this  army,  which  in  January 
last  defeated  Bragg's  superior  numbers,  cannot  overwhelm  his  present 
greatly  inferior  forces. 

4.  The  most  unfavorable  course  for  us  that  Bragg  could  take,  would 
be  to  fall  back  without  giving  us  battle  ;  but  this  would  be  very  disas 
trous  to  him.     Besides  the  loss  of  material  of  war,  and  the  abandon 
ment  of  the  rich  and  abundant  harvest,  now  nearly  ripe  in  Central 
Tennessee,  he  would  lose  heavily  by  desertion.     It  is  well  known  that 
a  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  exists  among  his  Kentucky  and  Tennes 
see  troops.     They  are  already  deserting  in  large  numbers.     A  retreat 
would  greatly  increase  both  the  desire  and  the  opportunity  for  deser 
tion,  and  would  very  materially  reduce  his  physical  and  moral  strength. 
While  it  would  lengthen  our  communication,  it  would  give  us  posses 
sion  of  McMinnville,  arid  enable  us  to  threaten  Chattanooga  and  East 
Tennessee  ;  and  it  would  not  be  unreasonable  to  expect  an  early  occu 
pation  of  the  former  place. 

5.  But  the  chances  are  more  than  even  that  a  sudden  and  rapid 
movement  would  compel  a  general  engagement,  and  the  defeat  of 
Bragg  would  be,  in  the  highest  degree,  disastrous  to  the  rebellion. 

6.  The  turbulent  aspect  of  politics  in  the  loyal  States  renders  a 
decisive  blow  against  the  enemy,  at  this  time,  of  the  highest  import 
ance  to  the  success  of  the  government  at  the  polls,  and  in  the  enforce 
ment  of  the  Conscript  Act. 

7.  The  government  and  the  War  Department  believe  that  this  army 
ought  to  move  upon  the  enemy.     The  army  desire  it,  and  the  country 
is  anxiously  hoping  for  it. 

8.  Our  true  objective  point  is  the  rebel  army,  whose  last  reserves 
are  substantially  in  the  field,  and  an  effective  blow  will  crush  the  shell, 
and  soon  be  followed  by  the  collapse  of  the  rebel  government. 

9.  You  have,  in  my  judgment,  wisely  delayed  a  general  movement 
hitherto,  till  your  army  could  be  massed,  and  your  cavalry  could  be 
mounted.     Your  mobile  force  can  now  be  concentrated  in  twenty-four 
hours,  and  your  cavalry,  if  not  equal  in  numerical  strength  to  that  of 
the  enemy,  is  greatly  superior  in  efficiency  and  morale.     For  this  rea- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      1 85 

son  I  believe  an  immediate  advance  of  all  our  available  forces  is  ad 
visable,  and,  under  the  providence  of  God,  will  be  successful. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
J.  A.  GAKFIELD, 

Brigadier- General,  Chief  of  Staff. 
Major- General  ROSECRANS, 

Commanding  Dep't.  Cumberland. 

That  the  estimate  which  this  biography  has  placed 
upon  the  character  of  General  Garfield  may  not  seem 
to  be  overdrawn,  the  following  testimony  given  by  a 
writer  at  Zenia,  Ohio,  in  the  autumn  of  1862,  is  in 
serted  in  these  pages : 

"  We  have  known  General  James  A.  Garfield  for 
several  years,  and  entertain  for  him  the  highest 
personal  regard.  He  is  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
men  in  Ohio,  as  well  as  one  of  the  ripest  scholars. 
Socially  and  morally  he  has  no  superior.  He  is 
popular  with  all,  as  the  attachment  of  his  scholars,  as 
well  as  his  soldiers,  for  him  demonstrates. 

In  respect  to  abilities,  nature  has  by  no  means 
been  unfriendly  to  him ;  and  he  has  neither  despised 
nor  slighted  her  gifts.  A  severe  course  of  mental 
training,  combined  with  the  mental  practice  obtained 
by  presiding  over  one  of  the  colleges  of  Ohio,  has 
fully  developed  his  natural  endowments. 

Above  all  these  considerations,  everyone  respects 
General  Garfield  for  his  stern,  unyielding,  uncom 
promising  patriotism.  The  permanent  good  of  his 
country,  the  restoration  of  its  unity,  and  the  perpet 
uation  of  the  national  power  and  glory  through  all 
coming  time,  are  the  objects  which  he  keeps  steadily 
in  view." 

For  more  than  a  year  after  his  election  to  Congress, 
General  Garfield  kept  the  field,  and  without  flinching 


1 86       IciE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

endured  the  severest  tests  which  come  to  the  soldier 
in  war.  He  lost  no  time  and  shirked  no  hardships. 
He  bravely  entered  the  most  dangerous  lines  of 
battle  when  his  duty  called  him  there,  and  the  num 
ber  of  men  killed  at  his  side,  and  horses  wounded  or 
killed  under  him,  attest  his  proximity  to  the  enemy. 

In  General  Rosecran's  official  report  of  the  battle 
of  Chickamaugahe  bears  testimony  to  General  Gar- 
field's  soldierly  qualities  and  said  : 

"To  Brigadier-General  James  A.  Garfield,  chief 
of  staff.  I  am  especially  indebted  for  the  clear  and 
ready  manner  in  which  he  seized  the  points  of  action 
and  movement,  and  expressed  in  orders  the  ideas  of 
the  general  commanding." 

To  this  testimony  the  War  Department  put  its  seal 
by  issuing  to  him  a  commission  as  major-general 
dated  the  day  of  that  great  battle. 

On  December  5th,  a  few  weeks  after  the  battle  and 
after  General  Rosecrans  was  relieved,  General  Gar- 
field  resigned  his  commission  and  immediately  took 
his  seat  in  Congress.  At  the  time  he  resigned,  he 
felt  that  he  was  needed  in  Congress ;  yet,  his  unwill 
ingness  to  leave  the  service,  nearly  overcome  his  res 
olution  to  take  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives,  and  in  November,  before  he  left  the  army,  he 
wrote  to  the  President  that  were  it  not  for  the  strong 
belief  he  had  that  the  war  would  close  within  a  few 
months,  he  should  remain  with  the  army. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       l8/ 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

SERVICE  AS  A  LEGISLATOR. 

A.  NEW  FIELD.  —  THE  HIGHEST  TEST  OF  HUMAN  GREATNESS.  —  THE 
AMERICAN  CONGRESS.  —  FREQUENT  FAILURES  OF  NOTED  MEN. — 
THE  TRIALS  OF  THAT  CRISIS.  —PLACED  ON  THE  MILITARY  COMMIT 
TEE.  —  THE  STYLE  OF  HIS  SPEECHES.  — HIS  INDUSTRY.  — HIS  REPLY 
(TO  MR.  LONG.  —  AN  IMPROMPTU  SPEECH.  —  THE  COMPLIMENTS  OF 
OLD  MEMBERS. 

HITHERTO  we  have  noted  the  career  of  a  man  who, 
notwithstanding  his  surprising  success,  was  neverthe 
less  a  man  among  men, finding  often  his  equal  in  the 
work  which  he  had  chosen.  His  childhood,  youth, 
and  army  experience  were  such  as  to  entitle  him  to 
the  praise  and  thanks  of  the  people,  but  thus  far  in 
common  with  many  others. 

Thousands  of  boys  have  chopped  wood,  boiled  salts, 
and  drove  canal  horses  and  mules,  and  have 
succeeded  in  life,  notwithstanding  such  humble  be 
ginnings.  If  it  were  not  so,  the  history  of  his  career 
would  be  a  drawback  rather  than  an  encouragement 
to  American  youths. 

But  now  our  record  enters  upon  a  higher  plain, 
where  the  number  of  remarkable  successes  is  far  less 
and  where  many  prosperous  lives  find  their  final 
level.  In  the  legislative  halls  of  a  mighty  nation 


1 88      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

the  ability  and  integrity  of  men  find  their  severest 
tests.  -They  may  have  enjoyed  unlimited  success 
from  their  cradle  to  the  oath  of  office,  but  it  is  no 
guarantee  of  usefulness  or  fame  in  such  a  body  as  the 
American  Congress.  Great  soldiers,  with  the  scars 
of  many  battles  and  the  fame  of  mighty  conquerors, 
have  entered  the  doors  of  the  Capitol  amid  the  ap 
plause  of  an  idolizing  constituency,  and  have  been 
immediately  lost  from  sight,  and  soon  from  notice. 
Distinguished  lawyers  whose  acquaintances  regarded 
them  as  giants  in  the  intellectual  world,  seem  to  become 
helpless  and  worthless  as  soon  as  they  are  lost  in  the 
crowd  of  talented  men  who  gather  at  the  Capitol. 
Scholars,  poets,  mathematicians,  professors,  preachers, 
railroad  presidents,  bankers,  merchants,  discoverers, 
inventors  and  millionaires,  enter  the  legislative  cham 
bers  with  brilliant  reputations  and  under  the  impetus 
of  some  great  deed,  only  to  be  hid  in  a  political  fog, 
where  they  sit  for  a  while  in  silent  helplessness,  and 
go  home  without  a  sign  of  welcome  or  approval. 

The  story  of  Gen.  Garfield's  success  in  the  legisla 
tive  department  of  the  American  nation,  is  the  most 
interesting  and.  the  most  remarkable  part  of  the  his 
tory  of  his  life.  We  have  already  seen  how  his 
qualities  as  a  young  man  commended  him  to  the 
respect  and  attention  of  the  Senate  of  Ohio,  and  we' 
shall  see  how  quickly  those  same  qualities  lifted  him 
above  the  mass  of  congressmen,  and  brought  him 
into  the  notice  of  the  nation. 

It  must   not   be   considered  by  the   reader  that, 
because  General  Garfield  was  known  to  the  Presi- 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  189 

dent,  and  to  some  of  the  great  captains  of  our  army, 
and  was  loved  and  honored  by  the  people  of  the 
Western  Reserve,  that  he  was  known  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  There  were  hundreds  of  gener 
als  in  the  field  whose  names  were  far  better  known 
than  that  of  Rosecrans'  chief  of  staff.  There  were 
generals  in  the  House  of  Representatives  who  had 
seen  severer  service,  and  whose  deeds  had  been  far 
wider  proclaimed.  There  were  old  statesmen  there 
whose  hairs  had  grown  white  '  in  the  service  of  the 
nation.  There  were  scholars  of  the  highest  reputa 
tion,  and  orators  whose  words  had  become  classic. 
Not  a  score  of  the  whole  assembly  knew  him  by 
sight,  or  could  recall  his  place  of  residence  or  past 
services  when  his  name  was  called. 

It  was  a  new  start  in  life.  In  Congress,  as  in  the 
back  woods,  he  must  overcome  difficulties  and  fight 
his  way  alone.  To  win  distinction  there  he  must  be 
something  more  than  daring,  truthful,  and  industri 
ous  ;  he  must  possess  that  peculiar  combination  of 
strong  talents  and  intellectual  acuteness  to  which 
men  somewhat  vaguely  apply  the  term,  "  greatness." 
To  be  eminently  great  in  a  nation  of  great  men,  and 
in  a  time  when  especial  circumstances  combined  to 
develop  and  disclose  human  nobility,  required  mas 
terly  talents  and  incessant  watchfulness.  To  be  of 
unusual  service  to  humanity  and  of  exceptional  value 
to  a  nation,  when  twenty-five  millions  of  people  were 
striving,  at  a  fever  heat,  to  do  the  same  thing,  is 
something  of  which  a  man  has  reason  to  be  proud. 
Such  is  General  Garfield's  record.  He  entered  upon 


THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

his  duties  in  Congress  at  a  time  when  there  were 
foes  within  and  foes  without ;  when  a  strong  army 
threatened  the  nation  in  the  Southern  States,  and 
Great  Britain  menaced  it  from  the  ocean  ;  when  the 
finances  of  the  government  were  getting  into  an 
almost  inextricable  snarl ;  when  the  people  were 
searching  for  their  greatest  men,  for  councillors  in 
the  nation's  peril  and  distress ;  and  when  it  required 
fortitude,  wisdom  and  patriotism  above  the  common 
order,  to  provide  securely  for  the  nation's  future. 

For  this  work,  General  Garfield  was  well  endowed 
by  nature  and  education.  He  was  a  ready  speaker, 
—  apt,  elegant,  pointed,  vehement.  He  had  all  the 
scholarship  of  the  colleges,  and  more  to  draw  upon. 
He  had  the  practice  of  cultured  public  speaking. 
He  had  the  experience  of  war,  and  a  course  of 
extensive  reading  from  which  to  draw  forcible  and 
illuminating  illustrations.  He  had  all  the  physical 
characteristics  of  dignity,  strength,  countenance  and 
voice,  which  are  so  useful  in  the  public  forum. 
Thus  he  was  well  equipped  for  a  place  in  a  deliberate 
assembly.  But  the  growth  of  a  member's  influence, 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  is  slow. 
He  could  not  be  a  leader  there  until  he  had  again 
and  again  displayed  his  ability  for  the  post.  He 
does  not  appear  to  have  aspired  to  leadership  ;  but, 
from  the  first  day  of  the  session,  set  himself  with 
stubborn  purpose  at  the  task  of  securing  a  complete 
knowledge  of  the  rules  and  history  of  Congress. 

Then  followed  a  study  of  the  resources  of  the 
nation  in  men  and  money,  and  of  the  history  of 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       IQI 

other  countries,  whose  experience  could  throw  any 
light,  or  give  any  suggestion  to  statesmen,  in  the 
complicated  and  perplexing  trials  of  the  union.  His 
habits  of  incessant  study  served  him  well,  and  he 
always  had  a  book  in  his  hand  or  in  his  pocket,  for 
use  in  any  spare  moment.  His  astonishing  readi 
ness  in  congressional  debates  upon  any  question  of 
commerce,  manufactures,  finance,  revenue,  interna 
tional  law,  or  whatever  came  up,  can  be  accounted 
for  by  this  industrious  habit.  Never  idle  himself, 


CAPITOL  AT  WASHINGTON. 

and  assisted  by  his  wife,  as  only  a  talented,  patient 
and  affectionate  woman  of  her  unusual  gifts  can  as 
sist  a  man  of  letters,  he  steadily  and  heartily  assisted 
the  measures  he  thought  were  wise  and  good,  and 
earnestly,  and  sometimes  excitedly,  opposed  those 
actions  which  he  deemed  to  be  pernicious  and 
wrong. 

He  was  given  a  place  at  once,  upon  his  entry  into 
Congress,  on  the  very  important  committee  on  mil- 


THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

itary  affairs.  His  colleagues  bear  testimony  to  his 
activity,  industry  and  efficiency,  from  the  very  begin 
ning  of  his  term.  His  speeches  were  often  models 
of  graceful  oratory,  and  yet  have  about  them  none 
of  that  objectional  air  of  conceit  which  would  sug 
gest  that  the  speaker  delivered  them  for  any  other 
purpose  but  to  convince. 

Early  in  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  in  which  Mr. 
Garfield  first  made  his  appearance  as  a  congressman, 
Mr.  Alexander  Long  of  Ohio,  made  a  long  and 
labored  argument,  to  show  that  it  was  useless  to  try 
further  to  coerce  the  South.  The  tendency  of  Mr. 
Long's  speech  was  to  encourage  the  rebellion  and 
censure  the  patriots  who  attempted  to  preserve  the 
union.  To  that  speech  General  Garfield  replied, 
without  preparation,  having  taken  the  floor  immedi 
ately  upon  the  completion  of  Mr.  Long's  address. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,"  said  he,  "  I  should  be  obliged  to 
you  if  you  would  direct  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  bring 
a  white  flag  and  plant  it  in  the  aisle  between  myself 
and  my  colleague  who  has  just  addressed  you. 

I  recollect  on  one  occasion  when  two  great  armies 
stood  face  to  face,  that  under  a  white  flag  just  planted 
I  approached  a  company  of  men  dressed  in  the  uni 
form  of  the  rebel  confederacy  and  reached  out  my 
hand  to  one  of  the  number  and  told  him  I  respected 
him  as  a  brave  man.  Though  he  wore  the  emblems 
of  disloyalty  and  treason,  still,  underneath  his  vest 
ments,  I  beheld  a  brave  and  honest  soul. 

I  would  reproduce  that  scene  here  this  afternoon, 
I  say,  were  there  such  a  flag  of  truce, —  but  God  for- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       1 93 

give  me  if  I  should  do  it  under  any  other  circum 
stances  !  I  would  reach  out  this  right  hand  and  ask 
that  gentleman  to  take  it,  because  J  honor  his  brav 
ery  and  his  honesty.  I  believe  what  has  just  fallen 
from  his  lips  is  the  honest  sentiment  of  his  heart ; 
and,  in  uttering  it  he  has  made  a  new  epoch  in  the 
history  of  this  war  ;  he  has  done  a  new  thing  under 
the  sun ;  he  has  done  a  brave  thing.  It  is  braver 
than  to  face  cannon  and  musketry,  and  I  honor  him 
for  his  candor  and  frankness. 

But  now  I  ask  you  to  take  away  the  flag  of  truce, 
and  I  will  go  back  inside  the  union  lines  and  speak 
of  what  he  has  done.  I  am  reminded  by  it  of  a  dis 
tinguished  character  in  'Paradise  Lost.'  When  he 
had  rebelled  against  the  glory  of  God  and  '  led  away 
a  third  part  of  heaven's  sons,  conjured,  against  the 
Highest,'  when  after  terrible  battles  in  which  mount 
ains  and  hills  were  hurled  by  each  contending  host 
'with  'jaculations  dire'  ;  when  at  last  the  leader 
and  his  hosts  were  hurled  down  '  nine  times  the 
space  that  measures  day  and  night,'  and  after  the 
terrible  fall  lay  stretched  prone  on  the  burning  lake, 
Satan  lifted  up  his  shattered  bulk,  crossed  the  abyss, 
looked  down  into  Paradise,  and,  soliloquizing,  said : 
'  Which  way  I  fly  is  hell,  myself  am  hell.' 
It  seems  to  me  in  that  utterance  he  expressed  the 
very  sentiment  to  which  you  have  just  listened ; 
uttered  by  one  no  less  brave,  malign  and  fallen. 
This  man  gathers  up  the  meaning  of  this  great  con 
test,  the  philosophy  of  the  moment,  the  prophecies 
of  the  hour,  and,  in  sight  of  the  paradise  of  victory 
13 


194      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

and  peace,  utters  them  all  in  this  wail  of  terrible 
despair,  'Which  way  I  fly  is  hell.'  He  ought  to 
add,  '  Myself  am  hell.' 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  reminded  of  twa  characters 
in  the  war  of  the  revolution  as  compared  with  two 
others  in  the  war  of  to-day. 

The  first  was  Lord  Fairfax  who  dwelt  near  the 
Potomac,  a  few  miles  from  us.  When  the  great  con 
test  was  opened  between  the  mother  country  and 
the  colonies,  Lord  Fairfax,  after  a  protracted  strug 
gle  with  his  own  heart,  decided  that  he  must  go  with 
the  mother  country.  He  gathered  his  mantle  abou\ 
him  and  went  over,  grandly,  solemnly  and  impres 
sively  and  joined  the  fortunes  of  Great  Britain  against 
the  home  of  his  adoption. 

But  there  was  another  man  who  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  struggling  colonies,  and  continued  with 
them  till  the  war  was  well-nigh  ended.  But  in  a 
day  of  darkness,  which  just  preceded  the  glory  of 
the  morning,  that  other  man,  deep  down  in  the 
damned  pits  of  his  black  heart,  hatched  the  treason 
to  surrender  forever  all  that  had  been  gained  to  the 
enemies  of  his  country.  Benedict  Arnold  was  that 
man. 

Fairfax  and  Arnold  find  their  parallel  in  the  strug 
gle  of  to-day. 

When  this  war  began,  many  good  men  stood  hesi 
tating  and  doubting  what  they  ought  to  do.  Their 
doctrine  of  State  rights,  their  sympathies,  all  they 
had  ever  loved  and  longed  for,  were  in  the  South  ; 
and  aficr  long  and  painful  hesitation,  some  of  them 


OF    GENERAL    JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  195 

at  last  went  with  th3  enemies  of  the  nation.  At 
that  time  Robert  E.  Lee  sat  in  his  home  across  the 
river  here  doubting  and  delaying,  and  going  off  at 
last  almost  tearfully,  to  join  the  enemies  of  his 
country.  He  reminds  me  in  some  respects  of  Lord 
Fairfax,  the  stately  royalist  of  the  revolution.  But 
now,  when  hundreds,  of  thousands  of  brave  souls 
have  gone  up  to  God  under  the  shadow  of  the  flag, 
and  when  thousands  more,  maimed  and  shattered  in 
the  contest,  are  sadly  awaiting  the  deliverance  of 
death  ;  now,  when  three  years  of  terrific  warfare 
have  raged  over  us,  when  our  armies  have  pushed 
the  rebellion  back  over  mountains  and  rivers,  and 
crowded  it  back  into  narrow  limits,  until  a  wall  of 
fire  girds  it ;  now,  when  the  uplifted  hand  of  a  ma-- 
jestic  people  is  about  to  let  fall  the  lightning  of  its 
conquering  power  upon  the  rebellion ;  now,  in  the 
quiet  of  this  hall,  hatched  in  the  lowest  depths  of  a 
similar  dark  treason,  there  rises  a  Benedict  Arnold 
and  proposes  to  surrender  us  all  up,  body  and  spirit, 
the  nation  and  the  flag,  its  genius  and  its  honor, 
now  and  forever,  to  the  accursed  traitors  to  our 
country.  And  that  proposition  conies  —  God  for 
give  and  pity  my  beloved  State! — it  comes  from  a 
citizen  of  the  honored  and  loyal  Commonwealth  of 
Ohio. 

I  implore  you,  brethren,  in  this  House,  not  to 
believe  that  many  such  births  ever  gave  pangs  to 
my  mother  State  such  as  she  suffered  when  that 
traitor  was  born. 

[Suppressed  applause  and  sensation.]     I  beg  you 


196      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

not  to  believe  that  on  the  soil  of  that  State  another 
such  growth  has  ever  deformed  the  face  of  nature 
and  darkened  the  light  of  God's  day.  [An  audible 
whisper,  '  Vallandigham.']  But  ah !  I  am  reminded 
there  are  other  such.  My  zeal  and  love  for  Ohio 
have  carried  me  too  far.  I  retract.  I  remember 
that  only  a  few  days  since  a  political  convention  met 
at  the  capital  of  my  State,  and  almost  decided  to 
select  from  just  such  material  a  Representative  for 
the  Democratic  party  in  the  coming  contest;  and, 
to-day,  what  claim  to  be  a  majority  of  the  Democracy 
of  that  State  say  that  they  have  been  cheated  or 
they  would  have  made  that  choice.  I  therefore 
sadly  take  back  the  boast  in  behalf  of  my  native 
State. 

But,  sir,  I  will  forget  States.  We  have  something 
greater  than  States  and  State  pride  to  be  talked  of 
here  to-day.  I  will,  if  I  can,  dismiss  feeling  from  my 
heart,  and  try  to  consider  only  what  bears  upon  the 
logic  of  the  speech  to  which  we  have  just  listened. 

First  of  all,  the  gentleman  tells  us  that  the  right 
of  secession  is  a  constitutional  right.  I  do  not  pro 
pose  to  enter  into  the  argument.  I  have  expressed 
myself  hitherto  on  State  sovereignty  and  State  rights, 
of  which  this  proposition  of  his  is  the  legitimate 
child. 

But  the  gentleman  takes  higher  ground,  and  in 
that  I  agree  with  him,  namely,  that  five  million  or 
eight  million  people  possess  the  right  of  revolution. 
Grant  it ;  we  agree  there. 

If  fifty-nine  men  can  make  revolution  successful, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A,  GARFIELD.       1 97 

they  have  the  right  of  revolution.  If  one  State 
wishes  to  break  its  connection  with  the  federal  gov 
ernment,  and  does  it  by  force,  maintaining  itself,  it 
is  an  independent  State.  If  the  eleven  Southern 
States  are  determined  and  resolved  to  leave  the 
union,  to  secede,  to  revolutionize,  and  can  maintain 
that  revolution  by  force,  they  have  the  revolutionary 
right  to  do  so.  Grant  it.  I  stand  on  that  platform 
with  the  gentleman.  And  now  the  question  comes, 
Is  it  our  constitutional  duty  to  let  them  do  it  ?  That 
is  the  question ;  and  in  order  to  reach  it,  I  beg  to 
call  your  attention  not  to  an  argument,  but  to  the 
condition  of  affairs  which  would  result  from  such 
action,  the  mere  statement  of  which  becomes  the 
strongest  possible  argument.  What  does  this  gen 
tleman  propose  ?  Where  will  he  draw  the  line  of 
division  ?  If  the  rebels  carry  into  successful  seces 
sion  what  they  desire  to  carry  ;  if  their  revolution 
envelops  as  many  States  as  they  intend  it  shall 
envelop ;  if  they  draw  the  line  where  Isham  G. 
Harris,  the  rebel  governor  of  Tennessee!  in  the 
rebel  camp  near  our  lines,  told  Mr.  Vallandigham 
they  would  draw  it,  —  along  the  line  of  the  Ohio  and 
of  the  Potomac  ;  if  they  make  good  their  statement 
to  him,  that  they  will  ne^  er  consent  to  any  other 
line,  then,  I  ask,  what  is  the  thing  that  the  gentle 
man  proposes  to  do  ? 

He  proposes  to  leave  to  the  United  States  a  terri 
tory  reaching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and 
one  hundred  miles  wide  in  the  center!  From  Wells- 
ville,  on  the  Ohio  river,  to  Cleveland  on  the  lakes, 


198      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

is  one  hundred  miles.  I  ask  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  i( 
there  be  a  man  here  so  insane  as  to  suppose  that  the 
American  people  will  allow  their  magnificent  nation 
al  proportions  to  be  shorn  to  so  deformed  a  shape  as 
this  ? 

I  tell  you  —  and  I  confess  it  here  —  that  while  I 
hope  I  have  something  of  human  courage,  I  have  not 
enough  to  contemplate  such  a  result.  I  am  not 
brave  enough  to  go  to  the  brink  of  the  precipice  of 
successful  secession,  and  look  down  into  its  damned 
abyss.  If  my  vision  were  keen  enough  to  pierce  to 
its  bottom,  I  would  not  dare  to  look.  If  there  be  a 
man  here  who  dare  contemplate  such  a  scene,  I  look 
upon  him  either  as  the  bravest  of  the  sons  of  women, 
or  as  a  downright  madman.  Secession  to  gain 
peace !  Secession  is  the  tocsin  of  eternal  war. 
There  can  be  no  end  to  such  a  war  as  will  be  inau 
gurated  if  this  thing  be  done. 

Suppose  the  policy  of  the  gentleman  were  adopted 
to-day.  Let  the  order  go  forth  ;  sound  the  *  recall ' 
on  your  bugles,  and  let  it  ring  from  Texas  to  the  far 
Atlantic,  and  tell  the  armies  to  come  back.  Call 
the  victorious  legions  back  over  the  battle-fields  of 
Wood,  forever  now  disgraced.  Call  them  back,  over 
the  territory  which  they  have  conquered.  Call  them 
back,  and  let  the  minions  of  secession  chase  them 
with  derision  and  jeers  as  they  come.  And  then  tell 
them  that  that  man  across  the  aisle,  from  the  free 
State  of  Ohio,  gave  birth  to  the  monstrous  proposi 
tion.  Mr.  Chairman,  if  such  a  word  should  be  sent 
forth  through  the  armies  of  the  union,  the  wave  of 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       199 

terrible  vengeance  that  would  sweep  back  over  this 
land  could  never  find  a  parallel  in  the  records  of  his 
tory.  Almost  in  the  moment  of  final  victory,  the 
'recall '  is  sounded  by  a  craven  people  not  deserving 
freedom.  We  ought  every  man  to  be  made  a  slave, 
should  we  sanction  such  a  sentiment. 

The  gentleman  has  told  us  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  coercion  justifiable  under  the  constitution.  I  ask 
him  for  one  moment  to  reflect  that  no  statute  «ever 
was  enforced  without  coercion. 

It  is  the  basis  of  every  law  in  the  universe,  —  God's 
law  as  well  as  man's.  A  law  is  no  law  without  co 
ercion  behind  it.  When  a  man  has  murdered  his 
brother,  coercion  takes  the  murderer,  tries  him  and 
hangs  him.  When  you  levy  your  taxes,  coercion  se 
cures  their  collection ;  it  follows  the  shadow  of  the 
thief,  and  brings  him  to  justice  ;  it  accompanies  your 
diplomacy  to  foreign  courts,  and  backs  the  declaration 
of  the  nation's  rights  by  a  pledge  of  the  nation's 
power.  But  when  the  life  of  that  nation  is  imperiled, 
we  are  told  that  it  has  no  coercive  power  against  the 
parricides  in  its  own  bosom.  Again,  he  tells  us  that 
oaths  taken  under  the  amnesty  proclamation  are 
good  for  nothing. 

The  oath  of  Galileo,  he  says,  was  not  binding  up 
on  him.  I  am  reminded  of  another  oath  that  was 
taken ;  but  perhaps  it,  too,  was  an  oath  on  the  lips 
alone,  to  which  the  heart  made  no  response. 

I  remember  to  have  stood  in  a  line  of  nineteen  men 
from  Ohio,  on  that  carpet  yonder,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  session  ;  and  I  remember  that,  with  uplifted  hands 


2OO      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

before  God,  those  nineteen  took  an  oath  to  support 
and  maintain  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  I  remember  that  another  oath  was  passed 
around,  and  each  member  signed  it  as  provided  by 
law,  utterly  repudiating  the  rebellion  and  its  pre 
tenses.  Does  the  gentleman  not  blush  to  speak  of 
Galileo's  oath  ?  Was  not  his  own  its  counterpart  ? 

He  says  the  union  can  never  be  restored  because 
of  the  terrible  hatred  engendered  by  the  war.  To 
prove  it,  he  quotes  what  some  Southern  man  said  a 
few  years  ago,  that  he  knew  no  hatred  between  peo 
ples  in  the  world  like  that  between  the  North  and 
the  South.  And  yet  that  North  and  South  have  been 
one  nation  for  more  than  eighty  years  ! 

Have  we  seen  in  this  contest  anything  more  bitter 
than  the  wars  of  the  Scottish  border  ?  Have  we 
seen  anything  bitterer  than  those  terrible  feuds  in 
the  days  of  Edward,  when  England  and  Scotland 
were  the  deadliest  foes  on  earth  ?  And  yet  for  cen 
turies,  those  countries  have  been  cemented  in  an  in 
dissoluble  union  that  has  made  the  British  nation 
one  of  the  proudest  of  the  earth. 

I  said  a  little  while  ago  that  I  accepted  the  propo 
sition  of  the  gentleman  that  the  rebels  had  the  right 
of  revolution  ;  and  the  decisive  issue  between  us  and 
the  rebellion  is,  whether  they  shall  revolutionize  and 
destroy,  or  we  shall  subdue  and  preserve. 

We  take  the  latter  ground.  We  take  the  common 
weapons  of  war  to  meet  them ;  and  if  these  be  not 
sufficient,  I  would  take  any  element  which  will  over 
whelm  and  destroy ;  I  would  sacrifice  the  dearest 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       2OI 

and  best  beloved  ;  I  would  take  all  the  old  sanctions 
of  law  and  the  constitution  and  fling  them  to  the 
winds,  if  necessary,  rather  than  let  the  nation  be 
broken  in  pieces  and  its  people  destroyed  with  end 
less  ruin. 

What  is  the  constitution  that  these  ge'ntlemen  are 
perpetually  flinging  in  our  faces,  whenever  we  desire 
to  strike  hard  blows  against  the  rebellion  ?  It  is  the 
production  of  the  American  people.  They  made  it, 
and  the  Creator  is  mightier  than  the  creature.  The 
power  which  made  the  constitution  can  also  make 
other  instruments  to  do  its  great  work  in  the  day  of 
its  dire  necessity." 

This  speech  was  so  eloquently  spoken,  and  was 
stamped  with  such  sincerity,  that  old  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  gathered  about  him  during 
its  delivery,  and  greeted  him  with  most  flattering 
demonstrations  of  approval  at  its  close. 


202      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 


CHAPTER   XV. 

EARLY  SPEECHES. 

HIS  POSITION  CONCERNING  THE  DRAFT  FOR  THE  ARMY.  —  DIFFERS 
WITH  HIS  OWN  PARTY.  — CONTENDS  FOR  FRANKNESS  AND  TRUTH.  — 
HOPEFUL  VIEW  OF  THE  NATION'S  SUCCESS. —  NATIONAL  CONSCIENCE 
AND  SLAVERY.  —  EMANCIPATION  THE  REMEDY  FOR  NATIONAL 
EVILS. — DEFENCE  OF  GENERAL  ROSECRANS.  — TRIBUTE  TO  GENER 
AL  THOMAS.  —  HIS  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  CHICKAMAUGA.  — 
THE  DOCTRINE  OF  STATE  RIGHTS.  —  CAMDEN  AND  AMBOY  RAIL 
ROAD  VS.  THE  UNITED  STATES. — WHAT  IS  THE  POWER  AND  PRE 
ROGATIVE  OF  THE  NATION. 

DURING  General  Garfield's  first  session,  there  was 
much  contention  over  the  draft  for  the  army,  and  the 
clause  in  the  law  which  allowed  persons  who  were 
drawn  to  commute  their  service  by  the  payment  of 
three  hundred  dollars.  The  speech  which  General 
Garfield  made  illustrates,  better  than  any  description 
could  do,  certain  phases  of  his  character  and  his 
manner  as  a  public  speaker.  In  this  he  was  not  con 
tending  so  much  with  the  Democratic  party,  as  with 
those  of  his  own  party  with  whom  he  differed  in  re 
gard  to  the  wisdom  o*  the  laws  regulating  the  draft. 
He  said : 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  it  has  never  been  my  policy  to  con 
ceal  a  truth,  merely  because  it  is  unpleasant.  It  may 
be  well  to  smile  in  the  face  of  danger,  but  it  is  neither 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       2O3 

well  nor  wise  to  let  danger  approach  unchallenged 
and  unannounced.  A  brave  nation,  like  a  brave  man, 
desires  to  see  and  measure  the  perils  which  threaten 
it.  It  is  the  right  of  the  American  people  to  know 
the  necessities  of  the  republic,  when  they  are  called 
upon  to  make  sacrifices  for  it.  It  is  this  lack  of  con 
fidence  in  ourselves  and  the  people,  this  timid  waiting 
for  events  to  control  us,  when  they  should  obey  us, 
that  makes  men  oscillate  between  hope  and  fear,  — 
now  in  the  sunshine  of  the  hill-tops,  and  now  in  the 
gloom  and  shadows  of  the  valley.  To  such  men,  the 
morning  bulletin,  which  heralds  success  in  the  army, 
gives  exultation  and  high  hope;  the  evening  dis 
patch,  announcing  some  slight  disaster  to  our  advanc 
ing  columns,  brings  gloom  and  depression.  Hope 
rises  and  falls  by  the  accidents  of  war,  as  the  mercury 
of  the  thermometer  changes  by  the  accidents  of  heat 
and  cold.  Let  us  rather  take  for  our  symbol  the 
sailor's  barometer,  which  faithfully  forwarns  him  of 
the  tempest,  and  gives  him  unerring  promise  of  se 
rene  skies  and  peaceful  seas.  No  man  can  deny  that 
we  have  grounds  for  apprehension  and  anxiety.  The 
unexampled  magnitude  of  the  contest,  the  enormous 
expenditures  of  the  war,  the  unprecedented  waste  of 
battle,  bringing  sorrow  to  every  loyal  fireside,  the 
courage,  endurance  and  desperation  of  our  enemy, 
the  sympathy  given  him  by  the  monarchies  of  the 
Old  World,  as  they  wait  and  hope  or  our  destruction, 
all  these  considerations  should  make  us  anxious  and 
earnest ;  but  they  should  not  add  one  hue  of  despair 
to  the  face  of  an  American  citizen ;  they  should  not 


2O4      THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

abate  a  tittle  of  his  heart  and  hope.  The  specters 
of  defeat,  bankruptcy  and  repudiation  have  stalked 
through  this  Chamber,  evoked  by  those  gentlemen 
who  see  no  hope  for  the  republic,  in  the  arbitrament 
of  war,  no  power  in  the  justice  of  our  cause,  no  peace 
made  secure  by  the  triumph  of  freedom  and  truth. 
Mr.  Speaker,  even  at  this  late  day  of  the  session,  I 
will  beg  the  indulgence  of  the  House,  while  I  point 
out  some  of  the  grounds  of  our  confidence  in  the  final 
success  of  our  cause,  while  I  endeavor  to  show  that, 
though  beset  with  dangers,  we  still  stand  on  firm 
earth ;  and  though  the  heavens  are  clouded,  yet  above 
storm  and  cloud  the  sun  of  our  national  hope  shines 
with  steady  and  undimmed  splendor.  History  is 
constantly  repeating  itself,  making  only  such  changes 
of  programme  as  the  growth  of  nations  and  centuries 
requires.  Such  struggles  as  ours,  and  far  greater 
ones,  have  occurred  in  other  ages,  and  their  records 
are  written  for  us.  I  desire  to  refer  to  the  example 
of  our  ancestors  across  the  sea,  in  their  great  strug 
gles  at  the  close  of  the  last  and  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  to  show  what  a  brave  nation  can  do 
when  their  liberties  are  in  danger,  and  their  national 
existence  is  at  stake. 

*  *  *    '         #  *  * 

And  can  we,  the  descendants  of  such  a  people, 
with  such  a  history  and  such  an  example  before  us, 
can  we,  dare  we  falter  in  a  day  like  this  ?  Dare  we 
doubt  ?  Should  we  not  rather  say,  as  Bolingbroke 
said  to  his  people,  in  their  hour  of  peril :  '  Oh,  woe 
to  thee  when  doubt  comes  ;  it  blows  like  a  wind  from 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       2O$ 

the  north,  and  makes  all  thy  joints  to  quake.  Woe, 
indeed,  be  the  statesmen  who  doubt  the  strength  of 
their  country,  and  stand  in  awe  of  the  enemy  with 
whom  it  is  engaged.'  At  that  same  period,  one  of 
the  greatest  minds  of  England  declared  the  three 
things  necessary  to  her  success  :  — 

1.  To  listen  to  no  terms  of  peace  till  freedom  and 
order  were  established  in  Europe. 

2.  To  fill  up  her  army  and  perfect  its  organization. 

3.  To  secure  the  favor  of  Heaven,  by  putting  away 
forever  the  crime  of  slavery  and  the  slave  trade. 

Can  we  learn  a  better  lesson  ?  Great  Britain,  in 
.that  same  period,  began  the  work  which  ended  in 
breaking  the  fetters  of  all  her  bondsmen.  She  did 
maintain  her  armies  and  her  finances,  and  she  did 
triumph.  We  have  begun  to  secure  the  approval  of 
Heaven  by  doing  justice,  though  long  delayed,  and 
securing  to  every  human  being  in  this  republic  free 
dom,  henceforth  and  forever. 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  has  long  been  my  settled  conviction 
that  it  was  a  part  of  the  divine  purpose  to  keep  us 
under  the  pressure  and  grief  of  this  war,  until  the 
conscience  of  the  nation  should  be  aroused  to  the 
enormity  of  its  great  crime  against  the  black  man, 
and  full  reparation  should  be  made.  We  entered  the 
struggle,  a  large  majority  insisting  that  slavery  should 
be  let  alone,  with  a  defiance  almost  blasphemous. 
Every  movement  toward  the  recognition  of  the  ne 
gro's  manhood  was  resisted.  Slowly,  and  at  a  fright, 
ful  cost  of  human  lives,  the  nation  has  yielded  its 
wicked  and  stubborn  prejudices  against  him,  till  at 


206     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

last  the  blue  coats  cover  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  swarthy  breasts,  and  the  national  banner  is 
born  in  the  smoke  of  battle  by  men  lately  loaded 
with  chains,  but  now  bearing  the  honors  and  emolu 
ments  of  American  soldiers.  Dare  we  hope  for  final 
success  till  we  give  them  the  full  protection  of  sol 
diers  ?  Like  the  sins  of  mankind  against  God,  the 
sin  of  slavery  was  so  great  that  '  without  the  shed 
ding  of  blood  there  was  no  remission.'  Shall  we  not 
secure  the  favor  of  Heaven  by  putting  it  completely 
away  ?  Shall  we  not  fill  up  our  armies  ?  Shall  we 
not- also  triumph?  Was  there,  in  the  condition  of 
England  in  1812,  a  single  element  essential  to  success  ' 
which  we  do  not  possess  to-day  ? 

****** 

If  we  will  not  learn  a  lesson,  either  from  England 
or  our  revolutionary  fathers,  let  us  at  least  learn  from 
our  enemies.  I  have  seen  their  gallantry  in  battle, 
their  hoping  against  hope  amid  increasing  disaster; 
and,  traitors  though  they  are,  I  am  proud  of  their 
splendid  courage,  when  I  remember  that  they  are 
Americans.  Our  army  is  equally  brave,  but  our  gov 
ernment  and  Congress  are  far  behind  them  in  ear 
nestness  and  energy. 

Until  we  go  into  the  war  with  the  same  desperation 
and  abandonment  which  mark  their  course,  we  do 
not  deserve  to  succeed,  and  we  shall  not  succeed. 
What  have  they  done  ?  What  has  their  government 
done,  —  a  government  based,  in  the  first  place,  on 
extreme  State  rights  and  State  sovereignty,  but 
which  has  become  more  centralized  and  despotic  than 


OF    GENERAL    JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  2O7 

the  monarchies  of  Europe?  They  have  not  only 
called  for  volunteers,  but  they  have  drafted.  They 
have  not  only  drafted,  but  cut  off  both  commutation 
and  substitution.  They  have  gone  further.  They 
have  adopted  conscription  proper  —  the  old  French 
conscription  of  1797  —  and  have  declared  that  every 
man  between  sixteen  and  sixty  years  of  age  is 
a  soldier.  But  we  stand  here  bartering  blood  for 
money,  debating  whether  we  will  fight  the  enemies 
of  the  nation,  or  pay  $300  into  its  treasury,  Mr. 
Speaker,  with  this  brief  review  of  the  grounds  of  our 
hope,  I  now  ask  your  attention  to  the  main  proposi 
tion  in  the  bill  before  the  House,  —  the  repeal  of  the 
commutation  clause.  Going  back  to  the  primary 
question  of  the  power  to  raise  armies,  I  lay  it  down 
as  a  fundamental  proposition,  as  an  inherent  and 
necessary  element  of  sovereignty,  that  a  nation  has 
a  right  to  the  personal  service  of  its  citizens.  The 
stability  and  power  of  every  sovereignty  rest  upon 
that  basis." 

His  fidelity  to  his  friends  and  comrades  led  him  to 
make  another  speech  during  his  first  session,  which 
gives  his  opinion  of  his  old  chief,  General  Rosecrans, 
and  also  of  General  Thomas,  and  deserves  a  place  in 
history.  It  was  made  upon  a  resolution  of  thanks  to 
General  Thomas,  for  his  generalship  in  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga. 

"This  resolution  proposes  to  thank  Major-General 
George  H.  Thomas  and  the  officers  and  men  under 
his  command  for  gallant  services  in  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga.  It  meets  my  hearty  approval  for 


2O8       THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

what  it  contains,  but  my  protest  for  what  it  does  not 
contain.  I  should  be  recreant  to  my  own  sense  of 
justice  did  I  allow  this  omission  to  pass  without  no 
tice.  No  man  here  is  ready  to  say,  —  and  if  there  be 
such  a  man  I  am  ready  to  meet  him,  —  that  the 
thanks  of  this  Congress  are  not  due  to  Major-General 
W.  S.  Rosecrans,  for  the  campaign  which  culminated 
in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga.  It  is  not  uncommon 
throughout  the  press  of  the  country,  and  many  peo 
ple,  to  speak  of  that  battle  as  a  disaster  to  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  treat  it  as  a  defeat.  If 
that  battle  was  a  defeat,  we  may  welcome  a  hundred 
such  defeats.  I  should  be  glad  if  each  of  our  armies 
would  repeat  Chickamauga.  Twenty  such  would  de 
stroy  the  rebel  army  and  the  confederacy,  utterly  and 
forever.  What  was  that  battle,  terminating  as  it  did 
a  great  campaign,  whose  object  was  to  drive  the  rebel 
army  beyond  the  Tennessee,  and  to  obtain  a  foothold 
on  the  south  bank  of  that  river,  which  should  form 
the  basis  of  future  operations  in  the  Gulf  States 
We  had  never  yet  crossed  that  river,  except  far  be 
low,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Corinth.  Chattanooga 
was  a  gateway  of  the  Cumberland  mountains,  and 
until  we  crossed  the  river  and  held  the  gateway,  we 
could  not  commence  operations  in  Georgia.  The 
army  was  ordered  to  cross  the  river,  to  grasp  and 
hold  the  key  of  the  Cumberland  mountains.  It  did 
cross,  in  the  face  of  superior  numbers;  and  after 
two  days  of  fighting,  more  terrible,  I  believe,  than 
any  since  this  war  began,  the  army  of  the  Cumber 
land  hurled  back,  discomfited  and  repulsed,  the  com- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       2OQ 

bined  power  of  three  rebel  armies,  gained  the  key  to 
the  Cumberland  mountains,  gained  Chattanooga,  and 
held  it  against  every  assault.  If  there  has  been  a 
more  substantial  success  against  overwhelming  odds, 
since  this  war  began,  I  have  not  heard  of  it.  We 
have  had  victories  —  God  be  thanked  —  all  along  the 
line,  but  in  the  history  of  this  war  I  know  of  no  such 
battle  against  such  numbers ;  forty  thousand  against 
an  army  of  not  less  by  a  man  than  seventy-five  thou 
sand.  After  the  disaster  to  the  right  wing,  in  the 
last  bloody  afternoon  of  September  2oth,  twenty-five 
thousand  men  of  the  army  of  the  Cumberland  stood 
and  met  seventy-five  thousand  hurled  against  them. 
And  they  stood  in  their  bloody  tracks,  immovable 
and  victorious,  when  night  threw  its  mantle  around 
them.  They  had  repelled  the  last  assault  of  the 
rebel  army.  Who  commanded  the  army  of  the  Cum 
berland  ?  Who  organized,  disciplined  and  led  it  ? 
Who  planned  its  campaigns?  The  general  whose 
name  is  omitted  in  this  resolution  —  Major-General 
W.  S.  Rosecrans. 

And  who  is  this  General  Rosecrans?  The  history 
of  the  country  tells  you,  and  your  children  know 
it  by  heart.  It  is  he  who  fought  battles  and  won 
victories  in  Western  Virginia,  under  the  shadow  of 
another's  name.  When  the  poetic  pretender  claimed 
the  honor  and  received  the  reward  as  the  author  of 
Virgil's  stanza  in  praise  of  Caesar,  the  great  Mantuan 
wrote  on  the  walls  of  the  imperial  palace  : 

'  Hoc  ego  versiculos  feci,  tulit  alter  honores.' 


2IO      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

So  might  the  hero  of  Rich  mountain  say,  '  I  woq 
this  battle,  but  another  has  worn  the  laurels.' 

1  From  Western  Virginia  he  went  to  Mississippi, 
and  there  won  the  battles  of  luka  and  Corinth,  which 
have  aided  materially  to  exalt  the  fame  of  that  gener 
al,  upon  whom  this  House  has  been  in  such  haste  to 
confer  the  proud  rank  of  lieutenant-general  of  the 
army  of  the  United  States,  but  who  was  not  upon 
either  of  'these  battle-fields. 

Who  took  command  of  the  army  of  the  Cumber 
land,  found  that  army  at  Bowling  Green,  in  Novem 
ber,  1862,  as  it  lay  disorganized,  disheartened,  driven 
back  from  Alabama  and  Tennessee,  and  led  it  across 
the  Cumberland,  planted  it  in  Nashville,  and  thence, 
on  the  first  day  of  the  new  year,  planted  his  banners 
at  Murfreesboro',  in  torrents  of  blood,  and  at  the  mo 
ment  of  our  extremest  peril,  throwing  himself  into 
the  breech,  saved  by  his  personal  valor  the  army  of 
the  Cumberland  and  the  hopes  of  the  republic  ?  It 
was  General  Rosecrans.  From  the  day  he  assumed 
the  command  at  Bowling  Green,  the  history  of  that 
army  may  be  written  in  one  sentence,  —  it  has  ad 
vanced,  and  maintained  its  advanced  position,  and  its 
last  campaign,  under  the  general  it  loved,  was  the 
bloodiest  and  most  brilliant.  The  fruits  of  Chicka- 
rnauga  were  gathered  in  November,  on  the  hights  of 
Mission  Ridge  and  among  the  clouds  of  Lookout 
mountain.  That  battle  at  Chattanooga  was  a  glorious 
one,  and  every  loyal  heart  is  proud  of  it.  But,  sir,  it 
was  won  when  we  had  nearly  three  times  the  number 
of  the  enemy.  It  ought  to  have  been  won.  Thank 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       211 

God  that  it  was  won.  I  would  take  no  laurel  from 
the  brow  of  the  man  who  won  it ;  but  I  would  remind 
gentlemen  here  that  while  the  battle  of  Chattanooga 
was  fought  with  vastly  superior  numbers  on  our  part, 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  fought  with  still  vaster 
superiority  against  us. 

If  there  is  any  man  upon  earth  whom  I  honor,  it 
is  the  man  who  is  named  in  this  resolution,  General 
George  H.  Thomas.  I  had  occasion,  in  my  remarks 
on  the  conscription  bill,  a  few  days  ago,  to  refer  to 
him  in  such  terms  as  I  delighted  to  use ;  and  I  say 
to  gentlemen  here  that  if  there  is  any  man  whose 
heart  would  be  hurt  by  the  passage  of  this  resolution 
as  it  now  stands,  that  man  is  General  George  H. 
Thomas.  I  know,  and  all  know,  that  he  deserves 
well  of  his  country,  and  his  name  ought  to  be  re 
corded  in  letters  of  gold;  but  I  know  equally  well 
that  General  Rosecrans  deserves  well  of  his  country. 
I  ask  you,  then,  not  to  pain  the  heart  of  a  noble  man, 
who  will  be  burdened  with  the  weight  of  these 
thanks,  that  wrong  his  brother  officer  and  his  supe 
rior  in  command.  All  I  ask  is  that  you  will  put  both 
names  into  the  resolution,  and  let  them  stand  side  by 
side." 

When  the  important  question  arose  in  Congress 
concerning  a  through  line  of  railroad  from  Washing 
ton  to  New  York,  there  was  considerable  opposition 
from  the  Camden  and  Amboy  railroad,  and  from  the 
officials  of  the  New  Jersey  State  government,  and 
the  question  whether  the  State  of  New  Jersey  had 
the  right  to  prohibit  the  construction  of  a  national 


212      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

railroad,  became  somewhat  interesting.     Upon  that 
question  he  said : 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  this  lifts  our  subject  above  corpora 
tions  and  monopolies  to  the  full  hight  of  a  national 
question  ;  I  might  almost  call  it  a  question  of  loyalty 
or  disloyalty.  I  have  only  to  say  in  regard  to  the 
language  of  this  proclamation  that  if  his  Excellency 
had  consulted  Calhoun  and  his  resolution  of  1833,  he 
would  have  its  doctrines  stated  much  more  ably  and 
elegantly.  He  calls  upon  the  Legislature  of  New 
Jersey  to  inquire  whether  this  bill  will  take  away 
any  of  the  revenue  of  the  State,  and  how  it  will  affect 
the  sovereign  rights  of  New  Jersey.  He  says  New 
Jersey  is  a  sovereign  State.  I  pause  there  for  a  mo 
ment.  Mr.  Coleridge  somewhere  says  that  abstract 
definitions  have  done  more  harm  in  the  world  than 
plague  and  famine  and  war.  I  believe  it.  I  believe 
that  no  man  will  ever  be  able  to  chronicle  all  the 
evils  that  have  resulted  to  this  nation  from  the  abuse 
of  the  words  *  sovereign'  and  'sovereignty.'  What 
is  this  thing  called  State  'sovereignty?'  Nothing 
more  false  was  ever  uttered  in  the  halls  of  legislation- 
than  that  any  Su,te  of  this  union  is  sovereign.  Con 
sult  the  elementary  text-books  of  law  and  refresh 
your  recollection  of  the  definition  of  '  sovereignty/ 
Speaking  of  the  sovereignty  of  nations  Blackstone 
says  : 

'  However  they  began,  by  what  right  soever  they 
subsist,  there  is  and  must  be  in  all  of  them  a  supreme 
irresistible,  absolute  uncontrolled  authority  in  which 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       213 

the  jura  summi  imperil  or  rights  of  sovereignty  re 
sisted' 

Do  these  elements  belong  to  any  State  of  this  re 
public  ?  Sovereignty  has  the  right  to  declare  war. 
Can  New  Jersey  declare  war  ?  It  has  the  right  to 
conclude  peace.  Can  New  Jersey  conclude  peace  ? 
Sovereignty  has  the  right  to  coin  money.  If  the 
Legislature  of  New  Jersey  should  authorize  and 
command  one  of  its  citizens  to  coin  a  half  dollar,  that 
man  if  he  made  it,  though  it  should  be  of  solid  silver, 
would  be  locked  up  in  a  felon's  cell  for  the  crime  of 
counterfeiting  the  coin  of  the  real  sovereign.  A 
sovereign  has  the  right  to  make  treaties  with  foreign 
nations.  Has  New  Jersey  the  right  to  make  treaties  ? 
Sovereignty  is  clothed  with  the  right  to  regulate 
commerce  with  foreign  States.  New  Jersey  has  no 
such  right.  Sovereignty  has  the  right  to  put  ships 
in  commission  upon  the  high  seas.  Should  a  ship 
set  sail  under  the  authority  of  New  Jersey  it  would 
be  seized  as  a  smuggler,  forfeited  and  sold.  Sovereign 
ty  has  a  flag.  But,  thank  God,  New  Jersey  has  no 
flag  ;  Ohio  has  no  flag.  No  loyal  State  fights  under 
the  'lone  star/  the  'rattlesnake,'  or  the  'pal 
metto  tree.'  No  loyal  State  of  this  union  has  any 
flag  but  '  the  banner  of  beauty  and  glory,'  the  flag 
of  the  union. 

These  are  the  indispensable  elements  of  sovereign 
ty.  New  Jersey  has  not  one  of  them.  The  term 
cannot  be  applied  to  the  separate  States,  only  in  a 
very  limited  and  restricted  sense,  referring  mainly  to 
municipal  and  police  re  ulations.  The  ri  hts  of  the 


214      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

States  should  be  jealously  guarded  and  defended. 
But  to  claim  that  sovereignty,  in  its  full  sense  and 
meaning,  belongs  to  the  States,  is  nothing  better  than 
rankest  treason.  Look  again  at  this  document  of  the 
governor  of  New  Jersey.  He  tells  you  that  the 
States  entered  into  the  'national  compact.'  National 
compact !  I  had  supposed  that  no  governor  of  a  loyal 
State  would  parade  this  dogma  of  nullification  and 
secession,  which  was  killed  and  buried  by  Webster 
on  the  i6th  of  February,  1833.  There  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  sovereign  State  making  a  compact  called  a 
constitution.  The  very  language  of  the  constitution 
is  decisive  :  '  We,  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
do  ordain  and  establish  this  constitution.'  The 
States  did  not  make  a  compact  to  be  broken  when 
any  one  pleased,  but  the  people  ordained  and  estab 
lished  the  constitution  of  a  sovereign  republic ;  and 
woe  be  to  any  corporation  or  State  that  raises  its 
hand  against  the  majesty  and  power  of  this  great 
nation." 

This  proclamation  closes  with  a  determination  to 
resist  this  legislation  of  Congress.  This  itself  is 
another  reason  why  I  ask  this  Congress  to  exercise 
its  right  to  rebuke  this  resurrected  spirit  of  nullifica 
tion.  The  gentleman  from  Pennsylviania  (Mr.  Broo- 
mall)  tells  us  that  New  Jersey  is  a  loyal  State,  and 
her  citizens  are  in  the  army.  1  am  proud  of  all  the 
citizens  of  New  Jersey  who  are  fighting  in  our  army. 
They  are  not  fighting  for  New  Jersey,  but  for  the 
union  ;  and  when  it  is  once  restored,  I  do  not  believe 
these  men  will  fight  for  the  Camden  and  Amboy 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       21$ 

monopoly.  Their  hearts  have  been  enlarged,  and 
there  are  patriotic  men  in  New  Jersey  in  the  army 
and  at  home,  who  are  groaning  under  this  tyrannical 
monopoly,  and  they  come  up  here  and  ask  to  strike  off 
the  shackles  that  bind  them ;  and  I  hold  it  to  be 
right  and  duty  of  this  body  to  strike  off  their  fetters, 
let  them  go  free. 


2l6      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 


CHAPTER    XVI 

EULOGIES  OF  NOTED  MEN. 

TO  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  —  THE  ANNIVERSARY  OF  MR.  LINCOLN'S  DEATH. 

—  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  ASSASSINATION.  —  THE  EFFECT  OF  HIS  DEATH. 

—  A  BEAUTIFUL  TRIBUTE.  —  ORATION  ON  CARPENTER'S  PAINTING. 

—  SIGNING    THE    EMANCIPATION    PROCLAMATION. — ITS    PLACE     IN 
HISTORY.  —JOHN  WINTHROP  AND  SAMUEL  ADAMS.  —  THE  GIFT  OF 
MASSACHUSETTS.  —  GENERAL    GARFIELD's    TRIBUTE  TO  NEW   ENG 
LAND.  —  THE  LESSON  OF  SELF-RESTRAINT,  —  REMARKS  UPON  THE 
DEATH  OF  SENATOR  MORTON. 

ON  the  first  anniversary  of  the  death  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  and  during  General  Garfield's  third  year  of 
service  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Congress 
adjourned  for  the  day  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  the 
martyr  President's  memory.  General  Garfield  was 
selected  to  make  the  motion  to  adjourn,  and  in  so 
doing,  was  selected  to  make  a  short  address.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  cultured,  thoughtful  and  appropriate 
addresses  to  be  found  in  the  vast  collection  of  patri 
otic  speeches,  which  remain  to  this  generation  from 
the  days  of  war  and  reconstruction. 

"I  desire"  said  he,  "to  move  that  this  House  do 
now  adjourn.  And  before  the  vote  upon  that  motion 
is  taken  I  desire  to  say  a  few  words.  This  day,  Mr. 
Spqaker,  will  be  sadly  memorable  so  long  as  this 
lation  shall  endure,  which  God  grant  may  be  'till 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      21 J 

the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time,'  when  the  volume 
of  human  history  shall  be  sealed  up  and  delivered  to 
the  omnipotent  Judge.  In  all  future  time,  on  the 
recurrence  of  this  day,  I  doubt  not  that  the  citizens 
of  this  republic  will  meet  in  solemn  assembly  to 
reflect  on  the  life  and  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  the  awful  tragic  event  of  April  14,  1865, — an 
event  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  nations,  certainly 
unparalleled  in  our  own.  It  is  eminently  proper 
that  this  House  should  this  day  place  upon  its  records 
a  memorial  of  that  event.  The  last  five  years  have 
been  marked  by  wonderful  developments  of  individ 
ual  character.  Thousands  of  our  people,  before  un  • 
known  to  fame,  have  taken  their  places  in  history, 
crowned  with  immortal  honors.  In  thousands  of 
humble  homes  are  dwelling  heroes  and  patriots 
whose  names  shall  never  die.  But  greatest  among 
all  these  great  developments  were  the  character  and 
fame  of  Abraham  Lincoln  whose  loss  the  nation  still 
deplores.  His  character  is  aptly  described  in  the 
words  of  England's  great  laureate — written  thirty 
years  ago — in  which  he  traces  the  upward  steps  of 
some 

4  Divinely  gifted  man, 
Whose  life  in  low  estate  began, 
And  on  a  simple  village  green ; 

1  Who  breaks  his  birth's  invidious  bar, 
And  grasps  the  skirts  of  happy  chance, 
And  breasts  the  blow  of  circumstance, 
And  grapples  with  his  evil  star  j 

1  Who  makes  by  force  his  merit  known, 
And  lives  to  clutch  the  golden  key*, 


2l8      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

To  mold  a  mighty  State's  decrees, 
And  shape  the  whisper  ot  the  throne  ; 

1  And  moving  up  from  high  to  higher, 
Becomes  on  Fortune's  crowning  slope, 
The  pillar  of  a  People's  hope, 
The  center  of  a  world's  desire.' 

Such  a  life  and  character  will  be  treasured  forever 
as  the  sacred  possession  of  the  American  people  and 
of  mankind.  In  the  great  drama  of  the  rebellion 
there  were  two  acts.  The  first  was  the  war  with  its 
battles  and  sieges,  victories  and  defeats,  its  suffer 
ings  and  tears. 

That  act  was  closing  one  year  ago  to-night,  and 
just  as  the  curtain  was  lifting  on  the  second  and 
final  act,  —  the  restoration  of  peace  and  liberty,  — 
just  as  the  curtain  was  rising  upon  new  characters 
and  new  events,  the  evil  spirit  of  the  rebellion,  in 
the  fury  of  despair,  nerved  and  directed  the  hand  of 
the  assassin  to  strike  down  the  chief  character  in 
both.  It  was  no  one  man  who  killed  Abraham  Lin 
coln  ;  it  was  the  embodied  spirit  of  treason  and 
slavery,  inspired  with  fearful,  despairing  hate,  that 
struck  him  down  in  the  moment  of  the  nation's 
supremest  joy. 

Ah,  sir,  there  are  times  in  the  history  of  men 
and  nations,  when  they  stand  so  near  the  veil  that, 
separates  mortals  from  the  immortals,  time  from 
eternity,  and  men  from  their  God,  that  they  can 
almost  hear  the  beatings,  and  feel  the  pulsations  of 
the  heart  of  the  Infinite.  Through  such  a  time  has 
this  nation  passed.  When  two  hundred  and  fift  r 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

thousand  brave  spirits  passed  from  the  field  of  honor, 
through  that  thin  veil,  to  the  presence  of  God ;  and 
when  at  last  its  parting  folds  admitted  the  martyr 
President  to  the  company  of  the  dead  heroes  of  the 
republic,  the  nation  stood  so  near  the  veil,  that  the 
whispers  of  God  were  heard  by  the  children  of  men. 
Awe-stricken  by  his  voice,  the  American  people 
knelt  in  tearful  reverence,  and  made  a  solemn  cove 
nant  with  Him,  and  with  each  other,  that  their 
nation  should  be  saved  from  its  enemies,  that  all  its 
glories  should  be  restored,  and  on  the  ruins  of  slav 
ery  and  treason,  the  temple  of  freedom  and  justice 
should  be  built,  and  should  survive  forever.  It  re 
mains  for  us,  consecrated  by  that  great  event,  and 
under  a  covenant  with  God,  to  keep  that  faith,  to  go 
forward  in  the  great  work  until  it  shall  be  completed. 
Following  the  lead  of  that  great  man,  and  obeying 
the  high  behests  of  God,  let  us  remember  that,  — 

'  He  that  sounded  forth  a  trumpet  that  shall  never  call  retreat; 
He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  his  judgment  seat ; 
Be  swift  my  soul  to  answer  him  ;  be  jubilant  my  feet ; 
For  God  is  marching  on. ' n 

To  the  eulogy  of  1866,  he  added  another  in  1878, 
which  should  be  preserved  for  future  generations  to 
read. 

On  the  1 6th  of  January,  1878,  he  introduced  into 
the  House  of  Representatives  the  following  joint 
resolution,  which  was  adopted  without  a  division.  It 
was  subsequently  adopted  by  the  Senate,  and  was 
approved  by  the  President,  February  i,  1878: 

Whereas,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Thompson  of  New  York 


22O   THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 

city  has  tenderd  to  Congress  Carpenter's  painting 
of  President  Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet,  at  the  time  of 
his  first  reading  of  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation : 
Therefore, 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  Ameica  in  Congress  assembled, 
That  said  painting  is  hereby  accepted  in  the  name  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States;  and  the  thanks  oi 
Congress  are  tendered  to  the  donor  for  her  generous 
and  patriotic  gift. 

A  nd  be  it  further  resolved,  That  the  Joint  Commit 
tee  on  the  Library  are  hereby  instructed  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  formal  presentation  of  said 
painting  to  Congress,  on  Tuesday,  the  twelfth  of 
February  next;  and  said  committee  shall  cause  said 
painting  to  be  placed  in  an  appropriate  and  conspic 
uous  place  in  the  Capitol,  and  shall  carefully  provide 
for  its  preservation. 

And  be  it  further  resolved.  That  the  President  is 
requested  to  cause  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  be 
forwarded  to  Mrs.  Thompson. 

In  pursuance  of  its  provisions,  the  hour  of  two 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  Tuesday,  February  i2th,  was  fixed  for 
the  formal  presentation  and  acceptance  of  the  paint 
ing,  and  Mr.  Garfield  said  :  — 

"Mr.  President:  By  the  order  of  the  Senate  and 
the  House,  and  on  behalf  of  the  donor,  Mrs.  Eliza 
beth  Thompson,  it  is  made  my  pleasant  duty  to  de 
liver  to  Congress  the  painting  which  is  now  unveiled. 
It  is  the  patriotic  gift  of  an  American  woman  whose 
years  have  been  devoted  to  gentle  and  generous 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       221 

charities,  and  to  the  instruction  and  elevation  of  the 
laboring  poor. 

Believing  that  the  perpetuity  and  glory  of  her 
country  depend  upon  the  dignity  of  labor  and  the 
equal  freedom  of  all  its  people,  she  has  come  to  the 
Capitol,  to  place  in  the  perpetual  custody  of  the  na 
tion,  as  the  symbol  of  her  faith,  the  representation  of 
that  great  act  which  proclaimed  '  liberty  throughout 
all  the  land  unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof.' 

Inspired  by  the  same  sentiment,  the  representa 
tives  of  the  nation  have  opened  the  doors  of  this 
Chamber  to  receive  at  her  hands  the  sacred  trust. 
In  coming  hither,  these  living  representatives  have 
passed  under  the  dome  and  through  that  beautiful 
and  venerable  hall  which,  on  another  occasion,  I  have 
ventured  to  call  the  third  House  of  American  repre 
sentatives,  that  silent  assembly  whose  members  have 
received  their  high  credentials  at  the  impartial  hand 
of  history.  Year  by  year,  we  see  the  circle  of  its 
immortal  membership  enlarging;  year  by  year,  we 
see  the  elect  of  their  country,  in  eloquent  silence, 
taking  their  places  in  this  American  pantheon,  bring 
ing  within  its  sacred  precincts  the  wealth  of  those 
immortal  memories  which  made  their  lives  illustrious ; 
and  year  by  year,  that  august  assembly  is  teaching 
deeper  and  grander  lessons  to  those  who  serve  in 
these  more  ephemeral  Houses  of  Congress. 

Among  the  paintings,  hitherto  assigned  to  places 
within  the  Capitol,  are  two  which  mark  events  for 
ever  memorable  in  the  history  of  mankind ;  thrice 
memorable  in  the  history  of  America. 


22 2      THL   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

The  first  is  the  painting  by  Vanderlyn,  which  rep 
resents,  though  with  inadequate  force,  the  great  dis 
covery  which  gave  to  the  civilized  world  a  new  hem 
isphere. 

The  second,  by  Trumbull,  represents  that  great 
Declaration  which  banished  forever  from  our  shores 
the  crown  and  scepter  of  imperial  power,  and  proposed 
to  found  a  new  nation  upon  the  broad  and  enduring 
basis  of  liberty. 

To-day,  we  place  upon  our  walls  this  votive  tablet, 
which  commemorates  the  third  great  act  in  the  his 
tory  of  America  —  the  fulfillment  of  the  promises  of 
the  Declaration. 

Concerning  the  causes  which  led  to  that  act,  the 
motives  which  inspired  it,  the  necessities  which  com 
pelled  it,  and  the  consequences  which  followed  and 
are  yet  to  follow  it,  there  have  been,  there  are,  and 
still  will  be  great  and  honest  differences  of  opinion. 
Perhaps  we  are  yet  too  near  the  great  events  of  which 
this  act  formed  so  conspicuous  a  part,  to  understand 
its  deep  significance  and  to  foresee  its  far-off  conse 
quences. 

The  lesson  of  history  is  rarely  learned  by  the  act 
ors  themselves,  especially  when  they  read  it  by  the 
fierce  and  dusky  light  of  war,  or  amid  the  deeper 
shadows  of  ^those  sorrows  which  war  brings  to  both. 
But  the  unanimous  voice  of  this  House  in  favor  of 
accepting  the  gift,  and  the  impressive  scenes  we  here 
witness,  bear  eloquent  testimony  to  the  transcendent 
importance  of  the  event  portrayed  on  yonder  canvas. 

Let  us  pause  to  consider  the  actors  in  that  scene. 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  223 

In  force  of  character,  in  thoroughness  and  breadth 
of  culture,  in  experience  of  public  affairs,  and  in  na 
tional  reputation,  the  Cabinet  that  sat  around  that 
council-board  has  had  no  superior,  perhaps  no  equal, 
in  our  history.  Seward,  the  finished  scholar,  the 
consummate  orator,  the  great  leader  of  the  Senate, 
had  come  to  crown  his  career  with  those  achieve 
ments  which  placed  him  in  the  first  rank  of  modern 
diplomatists.  Chase,  with  a  culture  and  a  frame  of 
massive  grandeur,  stood  as  the  rock  and  pillar  of  the 
public  credit,  the  noble  embodiment  of  the  public 
faith.  Stanton  was  there,  a  very  Titan  of  strength, 
the  great  organizer  of  victory.  Eminent  lawyers, 
men  of  business,  leaders  of  States  and  leaders  of  men 
completed  the  group. 

•  But  the  man  who  presided  over  that  council,  who 
inspired  and  guided  its  deliberations,  wa~s  a  character 
so  unique  that  he  stood  alone,  without  a  model  in 
history  or  a  parallel  among  men.  Born  on  this  day, 
sixty-nine  years  ago,  to  an  inheritance  of  extremest 
poverty ;  surrounded  by  the  rude  forces  of  the  wil 
derness  ;  wholly  unaided  by  parents ;  only  one  year 
in  any  school ;  never,  for  a  day,  master  of  his  own 
time,  until  he  reached  his  majority  ;  making  his  way 
to  the  profession  of  law  by  the  hardest  and  roughest 
road ;  yet  by  force  of  unconquerable  will  and  persist 
ent,  patient  work,  he  attained  a  foremost  place  in  his 
profession 

And,  moving  up  from  high  to  higher, 
Became,  on  fortune's  crowning  slope, 
The  pillar  of  a  people's  hope, 

The  center  of  a  world's  desire. 


224      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

At  first,  it  was.  the  prevailing  belief  that  he  would 
be  only  the  nominal  head  of  his  administration  ;  that 
its  policy  would  be  directed  by  the  eminent  states 
men  he  had  called  to  his  council.  How  erroneous 
this  opinion  was,  may  be  seen  from  a  single  incident : 

Among  the  earliest,  most  difficult,  and  most  deli 
cate  duties  of  his  administration,  was  the  adjustment 
of  our  relations  with  Great  Britain.  Serious  compli 
cations,  even  hostilities,  were  apprehended.  On  the 
2  ist  of  May,  1861,  the  Secretary  of  State  presented 
to  the  President  his  draught  of  a  letter  of  instructions 
to  Minister  Adams,  in  which  the  position  of  the 
United  States  and  the  attitude  of  Great  Britain  were 
set  forth  with  the  clearness  and  force,  which  long  ex 
perience  and  great  ability  had  placed  at  the  command 
of  the  secretary. 

Upon  almost  every  page  of  that  original  draught 
are  erasures,  additions  and  marginal  notes,  in  the 
hand-writing  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  which  exhibit  a 
sagacity,  a  breadth  of  wisdom,  and  a  comprehension 
of  the  whole  subject,  impossible  to  be  found  except 
in  a  man  of  the  very  first  order.  And  these  modifi 
cations  of  a  great  State  paper  were  made  by  a  man 
who,  but  three  months  before,  had  entered,  for  the 
first  time,  the  wide  theatre  of  executive  action. 

Gifted  with  an  insight  and  a  foresight  which  the 
ancients  would  have  called  divinition,  he  saw,  in  the 
midst  of  darkness  and  obscurity,  the  logic  of  events, 
and  forecasted  the  result.  From  the  first,  in  his  own 
quaint,  original  way,  without  ostentation  or  offense 
to  his  associates,  he  was  pilot  and  commander  of  his 
IS 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       22$ 

administration.  He  was  one  of  the  few  great  rulers 
whose  wisdom  increased  with  his  power,  and  whose 
spirit  grew  gentler  and  tenderer  as  his  triumphs  were 
multiplied. 

This  was  the  man,  and  those  his  associates,  who 
look  down  upon  us  from  the  canvas. 

The  present  is  not  a  fitting  occasion  to  examine, 
with  any  completeness,  the  causes  that  led  to  the 
proclamation  of  emancipation  ;  but  the  peculiar  rela 
tion  of  that  act  to  the  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
cannot  be  understood,  without  considering  one  re 
markable  fact  in  his  history. 

His  earlier  years  were  passed  in  a  region  remote 
from  the  centers  of  political  thought,  and  without 
access  to  the  great  world  of  books.  But  the  few 
books  that  came  within  his  reach,  he  devoured  with 
the  divine  hunger  of  genius.  One  paper,  above  all 
others,  led  him  captive,  and  filled  his  spirit  with  the 
majesty  of  its  truth  and  the  sublimity  of  its  eloquence. 
It  was  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence  — 
the  liberty  and  equality  of  all  men.  Long  before  his 
fame  had  become  national,  he  said  : 

That  is  the  electric  cord  in  the  Declaration,  that 
links  the  hearts  of  patriotic  and  liberty-loving  men 
together,  and  that  will  link  such  hearts  as  long  as  the 
love  of  liberty  exists  in  the  minds  of  men  throughout 
the  world. 

That  truth  runs,  like  a  thread  of  gold,  through  the 
whole  web  of  his  political  life.  It  was  the  spear- 
point  of  his  logic,  in  his  debates  with  Douglas.  It 
was  the  inspiring  theme  of  his  remarkable  speech  at 


226      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

the  Cooper  Institute,  which  gave  him  the  nomination 
to  the  presidency.  It  filled  him  with  reverent  awe 
when,  on  his  way  to  the  capital,  to  enter  the  shadows 
of  the  terrible  conflict  then  impending,  he  uttered,  in 
Carpenter's  Hall,  at  Philadelphia,  these  remarkable 
words,  which  were  prophecy  then,  but  are  history 
now : 

I  have  never  had  a  feeling,  politically,  that  did 
not  spring  from  the  sentiments  embodied  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  I  have  often  pondered 
over  the  dangers  which  were  incurred  by  the  men 
who  assembled  here  and  framed  and  adopted  that 
Declaration.  I  have  pondered  over  the  toils  that  were 
endured  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army 
who  achieved  that  independence.  I  have  often  in 
quired  of  myself  what  great  principle  or  idea  it  was 
that  kept  this  confederacy  so  long  together.  It  was 
not  the  mere  matter  of  the  separation  of  the  colonies 
from  the  mother  land,  but  that  sentiment  in  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence,  which  gave  liberty,  not 
alone  to  the  people  of  this  country,  but,  I  hope,  to  the 
world,  for  all  future  time.  It  was  that  which  gave 
promise  that,  in  due  time,  the  weight  would  be  lifted 
from  the  shoulders  of  all  men.  This  is  the  sentiment 
embodied  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Now, 
my  friends,  can  this  country  be  saved  on  that  basis  ? 
If  it  can,  I  shall  consider  myself  one  of  the  happiest 
men  in  the  world  if  I  can  help  to  save  it.  If  it  can 
not  be  saved  upon  that  principle,  it  will  be  truly 
awful.  But  if  this  country  cannot  be  saved  without 
giving  up  that  principle,  I  was  about  to  say,  /  would 
rather  be  assassinated  on  this  spot  than  surrender  it. 

Deep  and  strong  was  his  devotion  to  liberty ;  yet 
deeper  and  stronger  still  was  his  devotion  to  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      22? 

union,  for  he  believed  that  without  the  union,  perma 
nent  liberty  for  either  race  on  this  continent  would 
be  impossible.  And  because  of  this  belief,  he  was 
reluctant,  perhaps  more  reluctant  than  most  of  his 
associates,  to  strike  slavery  with  the  sword.  For 
many  months,  the  passionate  appeals  of  millions  of 
his  associates  seemed  not  to  move  him.  He  listened 
to  all  the  phases  of  the  discussion,  and  stated,  in 
language  clearer  and  stronger  than  any  opponent  had 
used,  the  dangers,  the  difficulties  and  the  possible 
futility  of  the  act. 

In  reference  to  its  practical  wisdom,  Congress,  the 
Cabinet  and  the  country  were  divided.  Several  of 
his  generals  had  proclaimed  the  freedom  of  slaves 
within  the  limits  of  their  commands.  The  President 
revoked  their  proclamations.  His  first  Secretary  of 
War  had  inserted  a  paragraph  in  his  annual  report, 
advocating  a  similar  policy.  The  President  sup 
pressed  it. 

On  the  i Qth  of  August,  1862,  Horace  Greeley  pub 
lished  a  letter,  addressed  to  the  President,  entitled 
'The  Prayer  of  Twenty  Millions,'  in  which  he  said: 

On  the  face  of  this  wide  earth,  Mr.  President, 
there  is  not  one  disinterested,  determined,  intelligent 
champion  of  the  union  cause  who  does  not  feel  that 
all  attempts  to  put  down  the  rebellion,  and  at  the 
same  time  uphold  its  inciting  cause,  are  preposterous 
and  futile. 

To  this  the  President  responded  in  that  ever- 
memorable  dispatch  of  August  22,  in  which  he  said  : 

If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  union 


228      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  save  slavery,  I  do 
not  agree  with  them. 

If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  union 
unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  destroy  slavery,  I 
do  not  agree  with  them. 

My  paramount  object  is  to  save  the  union,  and 
not  either  to  save  or  destroy  slavery. 

If  I  could  save  the  union  without  freeing  any  slave, 
I  would  do  it ,  if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the 
slaves,  I  would  do  it ;  and  if  I  could  do  it  by  freeing 
some  and  leaving  others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that. 

What  I  do  about  slavery  and  the  colored  race,  I 
do  because  I  believe  it  helps  to  save  the  union  ;  and 
what  I  forbear,  I  forbear  because  I  do  not  believe  it 
helps  to  save  the  union.  I  shall  do  less  whenever  I 
believe  that  what  J  am  doing  hurts  the  cause  ;  and  I 
shall  do  more  whenever  I  believe  doing  more  will 
help  the  cause. 

Thus,  against  all  importunities  on  the  one  hand, 
and  remonstrances  on  the  other,  he  took  the  mighty 
question  to  his  own  heart,  and,  during  the  long 
months  of  that  terrible  battle-summer,  wrestled  with 
it  alone.  • 

But  at  length,  he  realized  the  saving  truth,  that 
great,  unsettled  questions  have  no  pity  for  the  repose 
of  nations. 

On  the  22d  of  September,  he  summoned  his  Cabi 
net  to  announce  his  conclusion.  It  was  my  good 
fortune,  on  that  same  day,  and  a  few  hours  after  the 
meeting,  to  hear,  from  the  lips  of  one  who  partici 
pated,  the  story  of  the  scene. 

As  the  chiefs  of  the  executive  departments  came 
in  one  by  one,  they  found  the  President  reading  a 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      22Q 

favorite  chapter  fram  a  popular  humorist.  He  was 
lightening  the  weight  of  the  great  burden  which 
rested  upon  his  spirit.  He  finished  the  chapter, 
reading  it  aloud.  And  here  I  quote  from  the  pub 
lished  journal  of  the  late  chief -justice,  an  entry, 
written  immediately  after  the  meeting,  and  bearing 
unmistakable  evidence  that  it  is  almost  a  literal 
transcript  of  Lincoln's  words  : 

The  President  then  took  a  graver  tone,  and  said  : 
"  Gentlemen,  I  have,  as  you  are  aware,  thought  a 
great  deal  about  the  relation  of  this  war  to  slavery ; 
and  you  all  remember  that,  several  weeks  ago,  I  read 
to  you  an  order  I  had  prepared  •  upon  the  subject, 
which,  on  account  of  objections  made  by  some  of 
you,  was  not  issued.  Ever  since  then,  my  mind  has 
been  much  occupied  with  this  subject,  and  I  have 
thought  all  along  that  the  time  for  acting  upon  it 
might  probably  come.  I  think  the  time  has  come 
now.  I  wish  it  was  a  better  time.  I  wish  that  we 
were  in  a  better  condition.  The  action  of  the  army 
against  the  rebels  has  not  been  quite  what  I  should 
have  best  liked,  but  they  have  been  driven  out  of 
Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania  is  no  longer  in  danger 
of  invasion. 

When  the  rebel  army  was  at  Frederick,  I  deter 
mined,  as  soon  as  it  should  be  driven  out  of  Mary 
land,  to  issue  a  proclamation  of  emancipation,  such 
as  I  thought  most  likely  to  be  useful.  I  said  nothing 
to  any  one,  but  I  made  a  promise  to  myself  and  (hes 
itating  a  little)  to  my  Maker.  The  rebel  army  is  now 
driven  out,  and  I  am  going  to  fulfill  that  promise.  I 
have  got  you  together  to  hear  what  I  have  written 
down.  I  do  not  wish  your  advice  about  the  main 
matter,  for  that  I  have  determined  for  myself.  This 
I  say,  without  intending  anything  but  respect  for  any 


23O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

one  of  you.  But  I  already  know  the  views  of  each 
upon  this  question.  They  have  been  heretofore  ex 
pressed,  and  I  have  considered  them  as  thoroughly 
and  carefully  as  I  can.  What  I  have  written  is  that 
which  my  reflections  have  determined  me  to  say.  If 
there  is  anything  in  the  expressions  I  use,  or  in  any 
minor  matter  which  any  one  of  you  think  had  best 
be  changed,  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  your  sugges 
tions.  One  other  observation  I  will  make.  I  know 
very  well  that  many  others  might,  in  this  matter  as 
in  others,  do  better  than  I  can  ;  and  if  I  was  satis 
fied  that  the  public  confidence  was  more  fully  pos 
sessed,  by  any  one  of  them  than  by  me,  and  knew  of 
any  constitutional  way  in  which  he  could  be  put  in 
my  place,  he  should  have  it.  I  would  gladly  yield  to 
him.  But  though  I  believe  I  have  not  so  much  of 
the  confidence  of  the  people  as  I  had  some  time 
since,  I  do  not  know  that,  all  things  considered,  any 
other  person  has  more ;  and,  however  this  may  be, 
there  is  no  way  in  which  I  can  have  any  other  man 
put  where  I  am.  I  am  here  ;  I  must  do  the  best  I 
can,  and  bear  the  responsibility  of  taking  the  course 
which  I  feel  I  ought  to  take." 

The  President  then  proceeded  to  read  his  Emanci 
pation  Proclamation,  making  remarks  on  the  several 
parts  as  he  went  on,  and  showing  that  he  had  fully 
considered  the  subject  in  all  the  lights  under  which 
it  had  been  presented  to  him. 

The  proclamation  was  amended  in  a  few  matters 
of  detail.  It  was  signed  and  published  that  clay. 
The  world  knows  the  rest,  and  will  not  forget  it  till 
'  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time.' 

In  the  painting  before  us,  the  artist  has  chosen 
the  moment  when  the  reading  of  the  proclamation 
was  finished,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  was  offering 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       231 

his  first  suggestion.  I  profess  no  skill  in  the  subtle 
mysteries  of  art  criticism.  I  can  only  say  of  a  paint 
ing,  what  the  painting  says  to  me.  I  know  not  what 
this  may  say  to  others  ;  but  to  me,  it  tells  the  whole 
story  of  the  scene,  in  the  silent  and  pathetic  language 
of  art. 

We  value  the  Trumbull  picture  of  the  Declaration, 
—  that  promise  and  prophecy  of  which  this  act  was 
the  fulfillment,  —  because  many  of  its  portraits  were 
taken  from  actual  life.  This  picture  is  a  faithful 
reproduction,  not  only  of  the  scene,  but  its  accesso 
ries.  It  was  painted  at  the  executive  mansion,  under 
the  eye  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  sat  with  the  artist  dur 
ing  many  days  of  genial  companionship,  and  aided 
him  in  arranging  the  many  details  of  the  picture. 

The  severely  plain  chamber,  not  now  used  for 
cabinet  councils ;  the  plain  marble  mantel,  with  the 
portrait  of  a  hero  president  above  it ;  the  council- 
table,  at  which  Jackson  and  his  successor  had  presid 
ed  ;  the  old-fasjiioned  chairs ;  the  books  and  maps ; 
the  captured  sword,  with  its  pathetic  history ;  — all  are 
there,  as  they  were,  in  fact,  fifteen  years  ago.  But 
what  is  of  more  consequence,  the  portraits  are  true 
to  the  life.  Mr.  Seward  said  of  the  painting,  '  It  is 
a  vivid  representation  of  the  scene,  with  portraits  of 
rare  fidelity  ;'  and  so  said  all  his  associates. 

Without  this  painting,  the  scene  could  not  even 
now  be  reproduced.  The  room  has  been  remodeled  ; 
its  furniture  is  gone  ;  and  death  has  been  sitting  in 
that  council,  calling  the  roll  of  its  members  in  quick 
succession.  Yesterday,  he  added  another  name  to 


232       THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

his  fatal  list ;  and  to-day,  he  has  left  upon  the  earth 
but  a  single  witness  of  the  signing  of  the  proclama 
tion  of  emancipation. 

With  reverence  and  patriotic  love,  the  artist  ac 
complished  his  work  ;  with  patriotic  love  and  rever 
ent  faith,  the  donor  presents  it  to  the  nation.  In 
i he  spirit  of  both,  let  the  re-united  nation  receive  it 
and  cherish  it  forever." 

One  of  the  most  popular  of  General  Garfield's 
eulogies,  was  upon  John  Winthrop  and  Samuel  Adams, 
and  was  delivered  December  19,  1876,  the  House 
then  having  under  consideration  the  following  res 
olution  :  — 

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
December  19,  1876. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate,  (the  House  of  Representa 
tives  concurring^)  i.  That  the  statues  of  John  Win 
throp  and  Samuel  Adams  are  accepted  in  the  name 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  the  thanks  of  Congress 
are  given  to  the  State  of  Massachusetts  for  these 
memorials  of  two  of  her  eminent  citizens,  whose  names 
are  indissolufcy  associated  with  the  foundation  of  the 
.republic. 

2.  That  a  copy  of  thes^e  resolutions,  engrossed  upon 
parchment  and  duly  authenticated,  be  transmitted  to 
the  governor  of  Massachusetts. 

Attest :  GEO.  C.  GORHAM, 

By  W.  J.  MCDONALD,  Chief  Clerk. 

He  said:  —  "  Mr.  Speaker,  I  regret  that  illness  has 
made  it  impossible  for  me  to  keep  the  promise,  which 
I  made  a  few  days  since,  to  offer  some  reflections 
appropriate  to  this  very  interesting  occasion.  But  I 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       233 

cannot  let  the  moment  pass  without  expressing  my 
great  satisfaction  with  the  fitting  and  instructive 
choice  which  the  State  of  Massachusetts  has  made, 
and  the  manner  in  which  her  Representatives  have 
discharged  their  duty  in  presenting  these  beautiful 
works  of  art  to  the  Congress  of  the  nation. 

As,  from  time  to  time,  our  venerable  and  beautiful 
Hall  has  been  peopled  with  statues  of  the  elect  of 
the  States,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  a  third  House 
was  being  organized  within  the  walls  of  the  Capitol 
—  a  House  whose  members  have  received  their  high 
credentials  at  the  hands  of  history,  and  whose  term 
of  office  will  outlast  the  ages.  Year  by  year,  we  see 
the  circle  of  its  immortal  membership  enlarging; 
year  by  year,  we  see  the  elect  of  their  country,  in 
eloquent  silence,  taking  their  places  in  this  American 
pantheon,  bringing  within  its  sacred  circle  the  wealth 
of  those  immortal  memories,  which  made  their  lives 
illustrious  ;  and,  year  by  year,  that  august  assembly 
is  teaching  a  deeper  and  grander  lesson  to  all  who 
serve  their  brief  hour  in  these  more  ephemeral 
Houses  of  Congress.  And  now,  two  places  of  great 
honor  have  just  been  most  nobly  filled. 

I  can  well  understand -that  the  State  of  Massachu 
setts,  embarrassed  by  her  wealth  of  historic  gbry, 
found  it  difficult  to  make  the  selection.  And  while 
the  distinguished  gentleman  from  Massachusetts 
(Mr.  Hoar)  was  so  fittingly  honoring  his  State,  by 
portraying  that  happy  embarrassment,  I  was  reflect 
ing  that  the  sister  State  of  Virginia  will  encounter, 
if  possible,  a  still  greater  difficulty  when  she  comes 


234     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

to  make  the  selection  of  her  immortals.  One  name 
I  venture  to  hope  she  will  not  select,  —  a  name  too 
great  for  the  glory  of  any  one  State.  I  trust  she  will 
allow  us  to  claim  Washington  as  belonging  to  all  the 
States,  for  all  time.  If  she  shall  pass  over  the  great 
distance  that  separates  Washington  from  all  others, 
I  can  hardly  imagine  how  she  will  make  the  choice 
from  her  crowded  roll.  But  I  have  no  doubt  that 
she  will  be  able  to  select  two  who  will  represent  the 
great  phases  of  her  history,  as  happily  and  worthily  as 
Massachusetts  is  represented,  in  the  choice  she  has 
to-day  announced.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  happier 
combination  of  great  and  beneficent  forces,  than  will 
be  presented  by  the  representative  heroes  of  these 
two  great  States. 

Virginia  and  Massachusetts  were  the  two  focal 
centers  from  which  sprang  the  life-forces  of  this 
republic.  There  were,  in  many  ways,  complements 
of  each  other,  each  supplying  what  the  other  lacked, 
and  both  uniting  to  endow  the  republic  with  its 
noblest  and  most  enduring  qualities. 

To-day,  the  House  has  listened  with  the  deepest 
interest  to  the  statement  of  those  elements  of  price 
less  value  contributed  by  the  State  of  Massachusetts. 
We  have  been  instructed  by  the  clear  and  masterly 
analysis  of  the  spirit  and  character  of  that  Puritan 
civilization,  so  fully  embodied  in  the  lives  of  Winthrop 
and  Adams.  I  will  venture  to  add,  that,  notwith 
standing  all  the  neglect  and  contempt  with  which 
England  regarded  her  Puritans,  two  hundred  years 
ago,  the  tendency  of  thought  in  modern  England  is 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      235 

to  do  justice  to  that  great  force  which  created  the 
the  Commonwealth,  and  finally  made  the  British 
Islands  a  land  of  liberty  and  law.  Even  the  great 
historian  Hume  was  compelled  reluctantly  to  declare 
that— 

The  precious  spark  of  liberty  had  been  kindled  and 
was  preserved  by  the  Puritans  alone  ;  and  it  was  to 
this  sect  that  the  English  owe  the  whole  freedom 
of  their  constitution. 

What  higher  praise  can  posterity  bestow  upon  any 
people  than  to  make  such  a  confession  ?  Having 
done  so  much  to  save  liberty  alive  in  the  mother 
country,  the  Puritans  planted,  upon  the  shores  of  this 
New  World,  that  remarkable  civilization  whose  growth 
is  the  greatness  and  glory  of  our  republic. 

Indeed,  before  Winthrop  and  his  company  landed 
at  Salem,  the  Pilgrims  were  laying  the  foundation  of 
civil  liberty.  While  the  Mayflower  was  passing  Cape 
Cod,  and  seeking  an  anchorage,  in  the  midst  of  the 
storm,  her  brave  passengers  sat  down  in  the  little 
cabin,  and  drafted  and  signed  a  covenant  which  con 
tains  the  germ  of  American  liberty.  How  familiar 
to  the  American  habit  of  mind  are  these  declarations 
of  the  Pilgrim  covenant  of  1620, — 

That  no  act,  imposition,  law,  or  ordinance  be  made 
or  imposed  upon  us  at  present,  or  to  come,  but  such 
as  has  been  or  shall  be  enacted  by  the  consent  of  the 
body  of  free  men  or  associates,  or  their  representa 
tives,  legally  assembled. 

The  New  England  town  was  the  model,  the  primary 
cell,  from  which  our  republic  was  evolved.  The 


236      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

town  meeting  was  the  germ  of  all  the  parliamentary 
life  and  habits  of  Americans. 

John  Winthrop  brought  with  him  the  more  formal 
organization  of  New  England  society ;  and,  in  his 
long  and  useful  life,  did  more  than  perhaps  any  other 
to  direct  and  strengthen  its  growth. 

Nothing,  therefore,  could  be  more  fitting,  than  for 
Massachusetts  to  place  in  our  Memorial  Hall  the 
statue  of  the  first  of  the  Puritans,  representing  him 
at  the  moment  when  he  was  stepping  on  shore  from 
the  ship  that  brought  him  from  England,  and  bear 
ing  with  him  the  charter  of  that  first  political  society 
which  laid  the  foundations  of  our  country;  and  that 
near  him  should  stand  that  Puritan  embodiment  of 
the  logic  of  the  revolution,  Samuel  Adams.  I  am 
glad  to  see  this  decisive,  though  tardy,  acknowledg 
ment  of  his  great  and  signal  services  to  America.  I 
doubt  if  any  man  equaled  Samuel  Adams  in  formu 
lating  and  uttering  the  fierce,  clear  and  inexorable 
logic  of  the  revolution.  With  our  present  habits  of 
thought,  we  can  hardly  realize  how  great  were  the 
obstacles  to  overcome.  Not  the  least  was  the  religious 
belief  of  the  fathers — that  allegiance  to  rulers  was 
obedience  to  God.  The  thirteenth  chapter  of  Ro 
mans  was  to  many  minds  a  barrier  against  revolution 
stronger  than  the  battalions  of  George  III., — 

Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers. 
For  there  is  no  power  but  of  God  ;  the  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God.  Whosoever  therefore  re- 
sisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God. 

And  it  was  not  until  the  people  of  that  religious 


OF    GENERAL   JAMRS    A.    GARFIELD.  237 

age  were  led  to  see  that  they  might  obey  God  and 
still  establish  liberty,  in  spite  of  kingly  despotism, 
that  they  were  willing  to  engage  in  war  against  one 
who  called  himself  '  king  by  the  grace  of  God.' 
The  men  who  pointed  out  the  pathway  to  freedom  by 
the  light  of  religion  as  well  as  of  law,  were  the  fore 
most  promoters  of  American  independence.  And 
of  these,  Adams  was  unquestionably  chief. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  while  Samuel  Adams 
was  writing  the  great  argument  of  liberty  in  Boston, 
almost  at  the  same  time,  Patrick  Henry  was  formulat 
ing  the  same  doctrines  in  Virginia.  It  is  one  of  the 
grandest  facts  of  that  grand  time  that  the  colonies 
were  thus  brought,  by  an  almost  universal  consent, 
to  tread  the  same  pathway,  and  reach  the  same  great 
conclusions. 

But  most  remarkable  of  all  is  the  fact  that,  through 
out  all  that  period,  filled  as  it  is  was  with  the  revolu 
tionary  spirit,  the  great  men  who  guided  the  storm, 
exhibited  the  most  wonderful  power  of  self-restraint. 
It  I  were  to-day  to  state  the  single  quality  that  appears 
to  me  most  admirable  among  the  fathers  of  the  revo 
lution,  .1  should  say  it  was  this  :  that  amidst  all  the 
passions  ot  war,  waged  against  a  perfidious  enemy  from 
beyond  the  sea,  aided  by  a  savage  enemy  on  our  own 
shores,  our  fathers  exhibited  so  wonderful  a  restraint, 
so  great  a  care  to  observe  the  forms  of  law,  to  protect 
the  rights  of  the  minority,  to  preserve  all  those  great 
rights  that  had  come  down  to  them  from  the  common 
law,  so  that  when  they  had  achieved  their  independ 
ence,  they  were  still  a  law-abiding  people. 


238      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

In  that  fiery  meeting  in  the  old  South  church,  after 
the  Boston  massacre,  when,  as  the  gentleman  from 
Massachusetts  has  said,  three  thousand  voices  almost 
lifted  the  roof  from  the  church,  in  demanding  the  re 
moval  of  the  regiments,  it  is  noted  by  the  historian 
that  there  was  one,  solitary,  sturdy  'nay'  in  the 
vast  assemblage ;  and  Samuel  Adams  scrupulously 
recorded  the  fact  that  there  was  one  dissentient.  It 
would  have  been  a  mortal  offense  against  his  notions 
of  justice  and  good  order,  if  that  one  dissentient  had 
not  had  his  place  in  the  record.  And,  after  the 
regiments  had  been  removed,  and  after  the  demand 
had  been  acceded  to  that  the  soldiers  who  had  fired 
upon  citizens  should  be  delivered  over  to  the  civil 
authorities,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  law,  Adams 
was  the  first  to  insist  and  demand  that  the  best  legal 
talent  in  the  colony  should  be  put  forward  to  defend 
those  murderers  ;  and  John  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy 
were  detailed  for  the  purpose  of  defending  them. 
Men  were  detailed  whose  hearts  and  souls  were  on 
fire  with  the  love  of  the  popular  cause  ;  but  the  men 
of  Massachusetts  would  have  despised  the  two  advo 
cates,  if  they  had  not  given  their  whole  strength  to 
the  defense  of  the  soldiers. 

Mr.  Speaker,  this  great  lesson  of  self  restraint  is 
taught  in  the  whole  history  of  the  revolution ;  and 
it  is  this  lesson  that  to-day,  more  perhaps,  than  any 
other  we  have  seen,  we  ought  to  take  most  to  heart. 
Let  us  seek  liberty  and  peace,  under  the  law  ;  and, 
following  the  pathway  of  our  fathers,  preserve  the 
great  legacy  they  have  committed  to  our  keeping." 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       239 

Among  other  addresses  made  in  Congress,  upon 
the  death  of  Senator  Morton  of  Indiana,  General 
Garfield  delivered  the  following  : 

"  For  all  the  great  professions  known  among 
Americans,  special  training-schools  have  been  estab 
lished  and  encouraged  by  law,  except  that  of  states 
manship.  And  yet  no  profession  requires  for  its 
successful  pursuit  a  wider  range  of  general  and 
special  knowledge,  or  a  more  thorough  and  varied 
culture. 

Probably  no  American  youth,  unless  we  except 
John  Quincy  Adams,  was  ever  trained  with  special 
reference  to  the  political  service  of  his  country.  In 
monarchial  governments,  not  only  wealth  and  rank, 
but  political  authority  descends,  by  inheritance,  from 
father  to  son.  The  eldest  son  of  an  English  peer 
knows  from  his  earliest  childhood  that  a  seat  awaits 
him  in  the  House  of  Lords.  If  he  be  capable  and  am 
bitious,  the  dreams  of  his  boyhood  and  the  studies 
of  his  youth  are  directed  toward  the  great  field  of 
statesmanship.  To  the  favored  few,  this  system 
affords  many  and  great  advantages,  and  upon  the  un- 
titled  many,  whom  *  birth's  invidious  bar'  shuts  out 
from  the  highest  places  of  power,  it  must  rest  with 
discouraging  weight. 

Our  institutions  confer  special  privileges  upon  no 
citizen,  and,  we  may  now  say,  they  erect  no  barrier 
in  the  honorable  career  of  the  humblest  American. 
They  open  an  equal  pathway  for  all,  and  invite  the 
worthiest  to  the  highest  seats.  The  fountains  of  our 
strength,  as  a  nation,  spring  from  the  private  life  and 


24O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

the  voluntary  efforts  of  forty-five  millions  of  people. 
Each  for  himself  confronts  the  problem  of  life,  and 
amid  its  varied  conditions  develops  the  forces  with 
which  God  has  endowed  him.  Meantime,  the  nation 
moves  on  in  its  great  orbit,  with  a  life  and  destiny  of 
its  own,  each  year  calling  to  its  aid  those  qualities 
and  forces  which  are  needed  for  its  preservation 
and  its  glory.  Now,  it  needs  the  prudence  of  the 
counselor,  now,  the  wisdom  of  the  law-giver,  and 
now,  the  shield  of  the  warrior  to  cover  its  heart  in 
the  day  of  battle.  And  when  the  hour  and  the  man 
have  met,  and  the  needed  work  has  been  done,  the 
nation  crowns  her  heroes,  and  makes  them  her  own 
forever.  Such  hours  we  have  often  seen  during  the 
last  seventeen  years,  —  hours  which  have  called  forth 
the  great  elements  of  manhood  and  strength  from 
the  ranks  of  our  people,  and  crowded  our  pantheon 
with  new  accessions  of  glory.  Seventeen  years  ago, 
at  a  moment  of  supreme  peril,  the  nation  called  upon 
the  people  of  twenty-two  States  to  meet  around  her 
altar  and  defend  her  life.  Of  all  the  noble  men  who 
responded  to  that  call,  no  voice  rang  out  with  more 
clearness  than  that  of  Oliver  P.  Morton,  the  young- 
governor  of  Indiana.  He  was  then  but  thirty-seven 
years  of  age.  Self-made,  as  all  men  are  who  are 
worth  the  making,  he  had  risen  from  a  hard  life  of 
narrow  conditions  by  fighting  his  own  way,  thinking 
his  own  thoughts,  and  uttering  them  without  fear, 
until,  by  the  fortune  of  political  life,  he  had  become 
the  chief  executive  of  his  State.  He  saw  at  once, 
and  declared  the  terrible  significance  of  the  impend- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       24! 

ing  struggle,  and  threw  his  whole  weight  into  the 
conflict.  His  State  and  my  own  marched  abreast  in 
generous  emulation. 

But  he  was  surrounded  by  difficulties  and  dangers 
which  hardly  found  a  parallel  in  any  other  State. 
With  unconquerable  will,  and  the 'energy  of  a  Titan, 
he  encountered  and  overcame  them  all ;  and  keeping 
Indiana  in  line  with  the  foremost,  he  justly  earned 
the  title  of  one  of  the  greatest  war  governors  of  that 
heroic  period.  Thus,  the  great  need  of  the  nation 
called  forth  and  fixed  in  the  enduring  colors  of  fame 
those  high  qualities  which  those  thirty-seven  years 
of  private  life  had  been  preparing.  To  learn  the 
lesson  of  his  great  life,  let  us  recall  briefly  its  leading 
characteristics. 

He  was  a  great  organizer.  He  knew  how  to  evoke 
and  direct  the  enthusiasm  of  his  people.  He  knew 
how  to  combine  and  marshall  his  forces,  political  or 
military,  so  as  to  concentrate  them  all  upon  a  single 
object,  and  inspire  them  with  his  own  ardor.  I  have 
often  compared  him  with  Stanton,  our  great  War  Sec 
retary,  whose  windows  at  the  war  office,  for  many 
years,  far  into  the  night,  shone  out  '  like  battle-lan 
terns  lit/  while  he  mustered  great  armies  and 
launched  them  into  the  tempest  of  war,  and  '  organ 
ized  victory.'  In  the  whole  circle  of  the  States,  no 
organizer  stood  nearer  to  him  in  character  and  quali 
ties  and  friendship,  than  Oliver  P.  Morton. 

His  force  of  will  was  most  masterful.  It  was  not 
mere  stubbornness,  or  pride  of  opinion,  which  weak 
and  narrow  men  mistake  for  firmness.  But  it  was 
16 


242      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

that  stout-hearted  persistency  which,  having  once  in 
telligently  chosen  an  object,  pursues  it  through  sun 
shine  and  storm,  undaunted  by  difficulties,  and  unter- 
rified  by  danger. 

He  possessed  an  intellect  of  remarkable  clearness 
and  force.  With  keen  analysis,  he  found  the  core  of 
a  question,  and  worked  from  the  center  outward. 
He  cared  little  for  the  mere  graces  of  speech ;  but 
few  men  have  been  so  greatly  endowed  with  the 
power  of  clear  statement  and  unassailable  argument. 
The  path  of  his  thought  was  straight  — 

Like  that  of  the  swift  cannon  ball, 
Shattering  that  it  may  reach,  and 
Shattering  what  it  reaches. 

When  he  had  hit  the  mark,  he  used  no  additional 
words,  and  sought  for  no  decoration.  These  quali 
ties,  joined  to  his  power  of  thinking  quickly,  placed 
him  in  the  front  rank  of  debaters,  and  every  year  in 
creased  his  power.  It  has  been  said  that  Senator 
Morton  was  a  partisan,  a  strong  partisan,  and  this  is 
true.  In  the  estimation  of  some,  this  detracts  from 
his  fame.  That  evils  arise  from  extreme  partisanship, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  But  it  should  not  be  forgot 
ten  that  all  free  governments  are  party  governments. 
Our  great  Americans  have  been  great  partisans. 
Senator  Morton  was  not  more  partisan  than  Adams, 
Jefferson,  Jackson,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Benton,  Marshall, 
Taney  and  Chase.  Strong  men  must  have  strong 
convictions,  and  '  one  man  with  a  belief  is  a  greater 
power  than  a  thousand  that  have  only  interests.' 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       243 

Partisanship  is  opinion  crystallized,  and  party  organi 
zations  are  the  scaffoldings  whereon  citizens  stand 
while  they  build  up  the  walls  of  their  national  tem 
ple.  Organizations  may  change  or  dissolve,  but  when 
parties  cease  to  exist,  liberty  will  perish.  In  conclu 
sion,  let  me  say,  the  memory  of  Governor  Morton 
will  be  forever  cherished  and  honored  by  the  soldiers 
of  my  State.  They  fought  side  by  side  with  the  sol 
diers  of  Indiana,  and  in  a  hundred  glorious  fields  his 
name  was  the  battle-cry  of  the  noble  regiments  which 
he  had  organized  and  inspired  with  his  own  lofty 
spirit. 

To  the  nation  he  has  left  the  legacy  of  his  patriot 
ism,  and  the  example  of  a  great  eventful  life." 

General  Garfi eld's  speeches  upon  the  tariff,  which 
were,  perhaps,  the  ablest  production  of  his  brain,  are 
not  included  here,  as  they  are  necessarily  so  long, 
and  so  full  of  statistics,  of  no  interest  to  the  general 
reader.  His  position  was  that  of  a  conservative  and 
careful  protector  of  American  industry,  avoiding  the 
extremes  of  either  free  trade  or  wholesale  protection. 


244      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

PERIOD  OF  UNPOPULARITY, 

HIS  PRACTICE  OF  LAW.  —  HIS  FIRST  CASE  IN  THE  SUPREME  COURT.  — 
HIS  SUCCESS  AS  A  LAWYER.  —  UNPOPULARITY  OF  HIS  DEFENSE  OF 
REBELS  IN  COURT.  — HIS  CONNECTION  WITH  A  MATTER  CALLED  THE 
DE  GOLYER  PAVEMENT  CASE.— HOW  HB  WAS  MALIGNED.  —  PER 
SISTENCY  OF  ENEMIES.  —  THE  GREAT  CREDIT  MOBILIHR  CASE. — 
VINDICATION  OF  GENERAL  GARFIELD.  —  HIS  STORY  OF  HIS  DEAL 
INGS  WITH  OAKES  AMES.  —  HIS  OPPOSITION  TO  THE  INCREASE  OF 
SALARIES  IN  CONGRESS.  — THE  CENSURE  OF  HIS  CONSTITUENTS.  — 
HIS  EXPLANATION.  —RESTORATION  TO  PUBLIC  FAVOR. 

No  great  or  good  man  ever  served  a  capricious 
public  without  disheartening  trials,  and  periods  of 
unpopularity.  Such  experiences  are  often  the  test 
of  a  man's  ability  and  integrity.  In  the  history  of 
General  Garfield's  Congressional  career,  however,  his 
loss  of  public  favor  was  due,  in  each  instance,  to  a 
misunderstanding  of  the  facts,  on  the  part  of  the  peo 
ple.  When  his  actions  and  positions  on  public  meas 
ure  were  fully  understood  by  the  people,  he  was  at 
once  restored  to  favor  and  applause. 

One  cause  of  the  first  noticeable  ebb  in  the  public 
regard,  which  the  student  of  his  life  observes,  was  the 
natural  result  of  his  practice  of  law. 

He  was  a  Congressman  before  he  ever  tried  a  case 
in  court ;  and  his  experience  as  an  attorney  is  perhaps 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       245 

an  exception  to  that  of  any  other  lawyer,  inasmuch 
as  his  first  case  was  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  He  never  had  a  case  in  any  other 
court. 

His  first  appearance  in  the  Supreme  Court  was  in 
behalf  of  some  conspirators  who  had  been  tried  by 
court-martial,  and  condemned  t  death,  for  engaging 
in  a  movement-  to  assist  the  rebellion.  They  were 
tried  by  martial  law  in  a  State,  in  time  of  peace  de 
facto  in  the  State,  and  in  a  section  of  State  not  under 
martial  law.  The  legal  question  was,  whether  any 
military  body  had  such  power  under  the  circum 
stances.  Should  the  civil  power  be  ignored  in  time 
of  peace,  or  in  sections  of  the  country  where  martial 
law  had  not  been  proclaimed?  It  was  a  case  for 
which  he  received  no  pay,  and  was  undertaken  as  a 
test  of  this  important  principle. 

He  was  sustained  by  the  Court  and  complimented 
by  the  presiding  justice  for  his  able  presentation  of 
the  case  and  the  law,  while  the  criminals  were  set  at 
liberty.  No  sooner  had  the  news  of  his  interference 
in  behalf  of  condemned  rebels  reached  his  district  in 
Ohio,  than  the  indignant  voters  loudly  proclaimed 
his  "treachery  to  his  party  and  to  the  nation."  In 
the  following  election,  the  great  majority,  with  which 
he  had  always  been  elected,  fell  off  more  than  a  thou 
sand  votes,  because  of  his  supposed  espousal  of  the 
cause  of  rebellious  criminals. 

Other  cases  followed  with  occasionally  alike  result, 
from  which  he  easily  recovered,  but  which,  for  the 
time,  annoyed  him  and  disturbed  his  district. 


246      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

His  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  increased  very 
rapidly,  and  there  was  a  time  when  he  could  have 
left  his  seat  in  Congress  and  entered  upon  a  practice 
which  would  soon  have  made  him  rich.  As  it  was, 
the  income  he  thus  derived  was  of  great  use  to  him, 
for  his  great  generosity  and  thoughtlessness  of  self 
kept  him  almost  incessantly  in  financial  straits.  He 
wasted  no  money  on  himself  or  his  'family ;  but  he 
had  rather  pay  a  bill  himself,  than  to  ask  another 
person,  who  owed  it,  for  the  money ;  and  he  gave  to 
almost  every  good  enterprise  that  came  to  his  notice. 
He  was  often  called  upon  to  act  as  attorney  for 
corporations  and  contractors,  whose  applications  for 
money  or  privileges  were  to  come  before  Congress  ; 
and  though  it  was  considered  honorable  by  many 
Congressmen  to  act  in  such  cases,  provided  the  attor 
ney  refused  to  vote  when  the  measure  came  before 
Congress,  yet  invariably,  did  General  Garfield  refuse 
such  applications,  and  rejected  the  large  fees  which 
many  statesmen  thought  it  perfectly  honorable  for 
him  to  receive. 

In  1873,  General  Garfield  was  called  upon,  by  an 
attorney  in  Washington,  to  appear  for  him  in  a  matter 
which  the  attorney  (Mr.  Parsons)  said  would  not  re 
quire  much  attention.  The  attorney  being  retained 
in  the  case,  and  being  obliged  to  be  absent  when  the 
matter  was  to  come  up,  naturally  sought  some  other 
attorney  to  temporarily  take  his  place 

The  matter  to  be  attended  to,  in  this  instance,  was 
a  hearing  before  the  Board  of  public  works  in  Wash 
ington,  concerning  the  durability  of  a  wooden  pave- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      247 

ment,  on  which  Messrs.  De  Golyer  and  McLellan  held 
a  patent. 

General  Garfield  knew  nothing  about  the  pave 
ment,  and  but  little  about  the  men ;  and  knowing  that 
he  was  to  appear,  as  a  matter  of  form,  for  another, 
he  attended  one  hearing,  where  the  questions  of 
durability  and  material  were  the  only  ones  discussed. 
Having  performed  this  act  of  courtesy  he  dis 
missed  the  matter  wholly  from  his  mind.  Some 
months  afterwards,  to  his  great  surprise,  the  contract 
which  was  made  between  the  patentees  and  the  city, 
after  the  hearing  upon  the  durability  of  the  pave 
ment,  and  with  which  he  had  nothing  to  do,  came  up 
in  Congress,  with  the  charge  and  appearance  that 
the  contract  —  not  the  pavement  —  was  a  great 
swindle.  Immediately,  the  fact  that  he  had,  at  one 
time,  in  some  way,  and  somewhere,  appeared  as  at 
torney  for  the  patentees  was  noticed  in  the  public 
press,  and  became  the  cause  of  a  great  uproar, 
and  of  much  disgraceful  abuse. 

The  charges  that  he  was  connected  with  the  fraud 
were,  for  several  years,  proclaimed  by  some  of  the 
newspapers  of  the  Democratic  party,  notwithstanding, 
his  complete  vindication  by  the  committee  of  investi 
gation. 

So  much  was  said  about  it,  that  the  Hon.  J.  M. 
Wilson,  chairman  of  the  Congressional  committee  of 
investigation,  felt  called  upon  to  publish  the  following 
letter : 

There  was  not  in  my  opinion,  any  evidence  that 


248      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

would  have  warranted  any  unfavorable  criticism  upon 
his  conduct. 

The  facts  disclosed  by  the  evidence,  so  far  as  he 
was  concerned,  are  briefly  these  : 

The  Board  of  public  works  was  considering  the 
question,  as  to  the  kind  of  pavements  thatshouM  be 
laid.  There  was  a  contest  as  to  the  respective  merits 
of  various  wooden  pavements.  Mr.  Parsons  repre 
sented,  as  attorney,  the  De  Golyer  &  McLellan  pa 
tent,  and  being  called  away  from  Washington  about 
the  time  the  hearing  was  to  be  had  before  the  Board 
of  public  works,  on  this  subject,  procured  General 
Garfield  to  appear  before  the  Board  in  his  stead,  and 
argue  the  merits  of  this  patent.  This  he  did  ;  and 
this  was  the  whole  of  his  connection  in  the  matter.  It 
was  not  a  question  as  to  the  kind  of  contract  that 
should  be  made,  but  as  to  whether  this  particular 
kind  of  pavement  should  be  laid.  The  criticism  of 
the  committee  was  not  upon  the  pavement,  in  favor 
of  which  General  Garfield  argued,  but  was  upon  the 
contract  made  with  reference  to  it ;  and  there  was  no 
evidence  which  would  warrant  the  conclusion  that  he 
had  anything  to  do  with  the  latter. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  M.  WILSON. 

But  the  matter  which  made  the  greatest  public 
scandal  was  the  mention  of  his  name,  at  one  time,  in 
connection  with  the  great  Credit  Mobilier  in  the 
construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad. 

So  completely  was  the  scandal  silenced,  and  so 
straightforward  and  open  was  General  Garfield's 
course,  that  the  re-action  soon  came  in  his  favor,  and 
that  which,  for  a  time,  threatened  to  ruin  him,  fell 
harmless  at  his  feet.  His  life  of  truthfulness  and  his 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       249 

unstained  reputation  for  integrity  and  honor  were  of 
great  value  to  him,  when  all  his  political  opponents, 
with  great  glee,  paraded  his  connection  with  the 
Credit  Mobilier,derisively  shouting,  "  Christian  States 
man  ! "  "  moral  patriot !  "  &c.  So  clearly  did  he  show 
the  innocence  of  his  dealings  with  Mr.  Oakes  Ames, 
and  so  clearly  show  that  he  could  have  had  no  con 
nection  with  any  fraudulent  schemes,  that  the  record 
of  the  matter  has  now  no  historical  value,  except  as 
showing  how  curiously  public  men  may  be  beset,  and 
how  strangely  misunderstood.  General  Garfield  has 
given  an  account  of  the  whole  case,  and  it  shows  a 
most  interesting  chapter  of  our  national  history. 
This  he  made  voluntarily,  and  to  it  always  adheres. 

General  Garfield's  history  of  the  case,  in  a  some 
what  condensed  form,  is  as  follows  : 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1872,  during  the  excitement  of 
the  Presidential  campaign,  charges  of  the  most  seri 
ous  character  were  made  against  ten  or  twelve  per 
sons  who  were  then,  or  had  recently  been,  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress,  to  the  effect  that, 
five  years  ago,  they  had  sold  themselves  for  sundry 
amounts  of  stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  company, 
and  bonds  of  the  Pacific  railroad  company.  The 
price  at  which  different  members  were  alleged  to 
have  bartered  away  their  personal  honor  and  their 
official  influence  was  definitely  set  down  in  the  news 
papers  ;  their  guilt  was  assumed,  and  the  public  ven 
geance  was  invoked  not  only  upon  them,  but  also 
upon  the  party  to  which  most  of  them  belonged. 


25O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

By  a  resolution  of  the  House,  introduced  by  one 
of  the  members,  and  adopted  on  the  first  day  of  the 
session,  an  investigation  of  these  charges  was  ordered. 
The  parties  themselves  and  many  other  witnesses 
were  examined ;  the  records  of  the  Credit  Mobilier 
company  and  of  the  Pacific  railroad  company  were 
produced  ;  and  the  results  of  the  investigation  were 
reported  to  the  House  on  the  i8th  of  February. 
The  report,  with  the  accompanying  testimony,  was 
brought  up  in  the  House  for  consideration  on  the 
25th  of  February,  and  the  discussion  was  continued 
until  the  subject  was  finally  disposed  of,  three  days 
before  the  close  of  the  session.  The  investigation 
was  scarcely  begun,  before  it  was  manifest  that  the 
original  charge,  that-  stock  was  given  to  members  as 
a  consideration  for  their  votes,  was  wholly  abandoned, 
there  being  no  proof  whatever  to  support  it. 

But  the  charge  assumed  a  new  form,  namely  :  That 
the  stock  had  been  sold  to  members  at  a  price  known 
to  be  greatly  below  its  actual  value,  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  their  legislative  influence  in  favor  of 
those  who  were  managing  the  Pacific  railroad.  Eight 
of  those  against  whom  charges  had  been  made  in 
the  public  press,  myself  among  the  number,  were 
still  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
were  specially  mentioned  in  the  report.  The  com 
mittee  recommended  the  adoption  of  resolutions  for 
the  expulsion  of  Messrs.  Ames  and  Brooks,  the  lat 
ter  on  charges  in  no  way  connected  with  Mr.  Ames 
or  the  other  members  mentioned.  They  recom 
mended  the  expulsion  of  Mr.  Ames  for  an  attempt 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       2$  I 

to  influence  the  votes  and  decisions  of  members  of 
Congress,  by  interesting  them  in  the  stock  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier,  and  through  it,  in  the  stock  of  the 
Union  Pacific  railroad.  They  found  that  though 
Mr.  Ames  in  no  case  disclosed  his  purpose  to  these 
members,  yet  he  hoped  so  to  enlist  their  interest  that 
they  would  be  inclined  to  favor  the  Pacific  railroad 
and  its  interest,  and  that  he  declared  to  the  managers 
of  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  at  the  time,  that  he 
was  thus  using  the  stock  which  had  been  placed  in 
his  hands  by  the  company. 

Concerning  the  members  to  whom  he  had  sold,  or 
offered  to  sell,  the  stock,  the  committee  say  that  they 
'  do  not  find  that  Mr.  Ames,  in  his  negotiations  with 
the  persons  above  named,  entered  into  any  detail  of 
the  relations  between  the  Credit  Mobilier  company 
and  the  Union  Pacific  company,  or  gave  them  any 
specific  information,  as  to  the  amount  of  dividends 
they  would  be  likely  to  receive,  further  than  has  been 
already  stated,  [viz.,  that  in  some  cases  he  had  guar 
anteed  a  profit  of  ten  per  cent.]  *  *  *  They  do 
not  find,  as  to  the  members  of  the  present  House 
above  named,  that  they  were  aware  of  the  object  of 
Mr.  Ames,  or  that  they  had  any  other  purpose  in 
taking  this  stock  than  to  make  a  profitable  invest 
ment.  *  *  *  They  have  not  been  able  to  find 
that  any  of  these  members  of  Congress  have  been  af 
fected  in  their  official  action  in  consequence  of  inter 
est  in  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock.  *  *  *  They 
do  not  find  that  either  of  the  above  named  gentlemen 


252       THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

in  contracting  with  Mr.  Ames  had  any  corrupt  motive 
himself,  or  was  aware  Mr.  Ames  had  any.  Nor  did 
either  of  them  suppose  he  was  guilty  of  any  impro 
priety,  or  even  indelicacy,  in  becoming  a  purchaser 
of  this  stock.'  £nd  finally,  that  '  the  committee  find 
nothing  in  the  conduct  or  motives  of  either  of  these 
members  in  taking  this  'stock,  that  calls  for  any  rec 
ommendation  by  the  committee  of  the  House/ 

In  the  case  of  each  of  the  six  members  just  referred 
to,  the  committee  sum  up  the  results  of  the  testimo 
ny,  and  from  that  summary  the  conclusions  above 
quoted  are  drawn.  In  regard  to  me,  the  committee 
find,  that  in  December,  1867,  or  January,  1868,  I 
agreed  to  purchase  ten  shares  of  Credit  Mobilier 
stock  of  Mr.  Ames,  for  $1,000,  and  the  accrued  inter 
est  from  the  previous  July;  that  in  June,  1868,  Mr. 
Ames  paid  me  a  check  on  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of 
the  House  for  $329,  as  a  balance  of  dividends  on  the 
stock,  above  the  purchase  price  and  accrued  interest ; 
and  that  thereafter,  there  were  no  payments  or  other 
transactions  between  us,  or  any  communication  on 
the  subject  until  the  investigation  began  in  Decem 
ber  last. 

I  took  the  first  opportunity  offered  by  the  comple 
tion  of  public  business  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
House  to  the  above  summary  of  the  testimony  in 
reference  to  me.  On  the  3d  of  March  I  made  the 
following  remarks,  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
as  recorded  in  the  Congressional  Globe  for  that  day: 

I  rise  to  a  personal  explanation.  During  the  late 
investigation  by  the  committee,  of  which  the  gentle- 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES     A.    GAR  FIELD.  253 

man  from  Vermont  was  chairman,  I  pursued  what 
seemed  to  be  the  plain  path  of  duty,  to  keep  silence 
except  when  I  was  called  upon  to  testify  before  the 
committee.  When  testimony  was  given  which  ap 
peared  to  be  in  conflict  with  mine,  I  waited,  expect 
ing  to  be  called  again,  if  anything  was  needed  from 
me  in  reference  to  these  discrepancies.  I  was  not 
recalled;  and  when  the  committee  submitted  their 
report  to  the  House,  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
testimony  relating  to  me  had  not  been  printed. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  here,  I  was  pre 
pared  to  submit  some  additional  facts  and  considera 
tions,  in  case  my  own  conduct  came  up  for  consid 
eration  in  the  House  ;  but  the  whole  subject  was 
concluded  without  any  direct  reference  to  myself, 
and  since  then  the  whole  time  of  the  House  has  been 
occupied  with  the  public  business.  I  now  desire  to 
make  a  single  remark  on  this  subject  in  the  hearing 
of  the  House.  Though  the  committee  acquitted  me 
of  all  charges  of  corruption  in  action  or  intent,  yet 
there  is  in  the  report  a  summing  up  of  the  facts  in 
relation  to  me  which  I  respectfully  protest  is  not  war 
ranted  by  the  testimony.  I  say  this  with  the  utmost 
respect  for  the  committee,  and  without  intending  any 
reflection  upon  them. 

I  cannot  now  enter  upon  the  discussion  ;  but  I 
propose,  before  long,  to  make  a  statement  to  the 
public,  setting  forth  more  fully  the  grounds  of  my 
dissent  from  the  summing  up  to  which  I  have  re 
ferred.  I  will  only  say  now  that  the  testimony  which 
I  gave  before  the  committee  is  a  statement  of  the 
facts  in  the  case  as  I  have  understood  them  from  the 
beginning.  More  than  three  years  ago,  on  at  least 
two  occasions,  I  stated  the  case  to  two  personal 
friends,  substantially  as  I  stated  it  before  the  com 
mittee;  and  I  here  add  that  nothing  in  my  conduct 
or  conversation  has  at  any  time  been  in  conflict  with 


254      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

my  testimony.      For  the  present  I  desire  only  to 
place  on  record  this  declaration  and  notice. 

In  pursuance  of  this  notice,  I  shall  consider  so 
much  of  the  history  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  company 
as  has  any  relation  to  myself.  To  render  the  discus 
sion  intelligible,  I  will  first  state  briefly  the  offenses 
which  that  corporation  committed,  as  found  by  the 
committees  of  the  House. 

The  Credit  Mobilier  company  is  a  corporation  or 
ganized  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  authorized  by  its  charter  to  purchase  and  sell 
various  kinds  of  securities,  and  to  make  advances  of 
money  and  credit  to  railroad,  and  other  improvement 
companies.  Its  charter  describes  a  class  of  business, 
which,  if  honestly  conducted,  any  citizen  may  prop 
erly  engage  in. 

On  the  i6th  of  August,  1867,  Mr.  Oakes  Ames 
made  a  contract  with  the  Union  Pacific  railroad 
company  to  build  six  hundred  and  sixty-seven  miles 
of  road,  from  the  one  hundredth  meridian  westward, 
at  rates  ranging  from  $42,000  to  $96,000  per  mile. 
For  executing  this  contract  he  was  to  receive  in 
the  aggregate  $47,925,000,  in  cash,  or  in  the  securi 
ties  of  the  company. 

On  the  1 5th  of  October,  1867,  a  triple  contract  was 
made  between  Mr.  Ames  of  the  first  part,  seven  per 
sons  as  "trustees  of  the  second  part,  and  the  Credit 
Mobilier  company  of  the  third  part,  by  the  terms  of 
which  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  was  to  advance 
money  to  build  the  road,  and  to  receive  thereon 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  2$  5 

seven  per  cent,  interest,  and  two  and  one-half  per 
cent,  commission  ;  the  seven  trustees  were  to  execute 
the  Ames  contract,  and  the  profits  thereon  were  to 
be  divided  among  them,  and  such  other  stockholders 
of  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  as  should  deliver  to 
them  an  irrevocable  proxy  to  vote  the  stock  of  the 
Union  Pacific  held  by  them.  The  principal  stock 
holders  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  were  also 
holders  of  a  majority  of  the  stock  of  the  Union  Pacif 
ic  railroad. 

On  the  face  of  this  agreement,  the  part  to  be  per 
formed  by  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  as  a  corpo 
ration  was  simple  and  unobjectionable.  It  was  to 
advance  money  to  the  contractors,  and  to  receive 
therefore  about  ten  per  cent,  as  interest  and  commis 
sion.  This  explains  how  it  was  that,  in  a  suit  in  the 
courts  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1870,  to  collect  the  State 
tax  on  the  profits  of  the  company,  its  managers  swore 
that  the  company  had  never  declared  dividends  to  an 
aggregate  of  more  than  twelve  per  cent.  The  com 
pany  proper  did  not  receive  the  profits  of  the  Oakes 
Ames  contract.  The  profits  were  paid  only  to  the 
seven  trustees,  and  to  such  stockholders  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  as  hzd  delivered  to  them  the  proxies  on 
their  Pacific  railroad  stock.  In  other  words,  a  few 
men  inside  the  Credit  Mobilier  obtained  the  control, 
both  of  that  corporation  and  of  the  profits  of  the  Ames 
contract. 

By  a  private  agreement,  made  in  writing,  October 
1 6,  1867,  the  day  after  the  triple  contract  was  signed, 
the  seven  trustees  pledged  themselves  to  each  other 


256      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

so  to  vote  all  the  Pacific  railroad  stock  which  they 
held  in  their  own  right,  or  by  proxy,  as  to  keep  in 
power  all  the  members  of  the  then  existing  board  of 
directors  of  the  railroad  company  not  appointed  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  or  such  other 
persons  as  said  board  should  nominate.  By  this 
agreement,  the  election  of  a  majority  of  the  directors 
was  wholly  within  the  power  of  the  seven  trustees. 
From  all  this  it  resulted  that  the  Ames  contract  and 
the  triple  agreement,  made  in  October,  amounted, 
in  fact,  to  a  contract  made  by  seven  leading  stock 
holders  of  the  Pacific  railroad  company  with  them 
selves  ;  so  that  the  men  who  fixed  the  price  at  which 
the  road  was  to  be  built  were  the  same  men  who 
would  receive  the  profits  of  the  contract. 

[It  would  appear  by  General  Garfield's  statement 
above,  that  he  must  have  given  the  matter  consid 
erable  study,  as  he  would  naturally  do  after  the 
subject  was  so  prominently  before  the  public;  but 
it  now  appears  pretty  certain  that  through  excite 
ment  or  lack  of  financial  skill,  there  was  scarcely 
a  person  in  the  country  in  1872  outside  of  that 
board  of  directors  who  did  comprehend  its  compli 
cated  business  transactions,  or  realized  the  finan 
cial  risk  the  principal  stockholders  had  to  encoun 
ter.] 

The  Credit  Mobilier  company  had  already  been 
engaged  in  various  enterprises  before  the  connection 
with  the  Ames  contract.  George  Francis  Train  had 
once  been  the  principal  owner  of  its  franchises,  and 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       257 

it  had  owned  some  western  lands ;  (Wilson's  Report, 
pp.  497-8 ;)  but  its  enterprises  had  not  been  very 
remunerative,  and  its  stock  had  not  been  worth  par. 
The  triple  contract  of  October,  1867,  gave  it  at  once 
considerable  additional  value.  It  should  be  borne  in 
mind,  however,  that  the  relations  of  the  Credit  Mo- 
bilier  company  to  the  seven  trustees,  to  the  Oakes 
Ames'  contract,  and  to  the  Pacific  railroad  company, 
were  known  to  but  few  persons  until  long  afterward, 
and  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  parties  to  keep 
them  secret.  Indeed,  nothing  was  known  of  it  to  the 
general  public  until  the  facts  were  brought  out  in 
the  recent  investigations. 

In  view  of  the  facts  above  stated,  it  is  evident  that 
a  purchaser  of  such  shares  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock, 
as  were  brought  under  the  operation  of  the  triple 
contract,  would  be  a  sharer  in  the  profits  derived  by 
that  arrangement  from  the  assets  of  the  Pacific  rail 
road,  a  large  part  of  which  consisted  of  bonds  and 
lands  granted  to  the  road  by  the  United  States.  The 
holding  of  such  stock  by  a  member  of  Congress  would 
depend  for  its  moral  qualities  wholly  upon  the  fact 
whether  he  did  or  did  not  know  of  any  arrangement 
out  of  which  unjust  profits  would  come.  If  he  knew  of 
any  fraudulent  arrangement  by  which  the  bonds  and 
lands  of  the  United  States,  delivered  to  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  company  for  the  purpose  of  construct 
ing  its  road,  were  to  be  paid  out  at  enormously  ex 
travagant  rates,  and  the  proceeds  to  be  paid  out  as 
dividends  to  a  ring  of  stockholders  made  by  the  Credit 
Mobilier  company,  he  could  not,  with  any  propriety, 
17 


258       THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

hold  such  stock,  or  agree  to  hold  it,  or  any  of  its  pro 
ceeds.  And  for  a  member  of  Congress  believing 
such  was  the  case,  to  hold  under  advisement  a  propo 
sition  to  buy  this  stock,  would  be  morally  as  wrong 
as  to  hold  it  and  receive  the  profits  upon  it.  If  it  was 
morally  wrong  to  purchase  it,  it  was  morally  wrong  to 
hesitate  whether  to  purchase  it  or  not. 

I  put  the  case  on  the  highest  ethical  ground,  and 
ask  that  this  rule  be  applied  in  all  its  severity  in 
judging  of  my  relation  to  this  subject. 

The  committee  found,  as  already  stated,  that  none 
of  the  six  members  to  whom  Mr.  Ames  sold,  or  pro- 
posed  to  sell,  the  stock,  knew  of  any  clandestine  ar 
rangement.  I  shall,  however,  discuss  the  subject  only 
in  so  far  as  relates  to  me,  and  shall  undertake  to  es 
tablish  three  propositions: 

First.  That  I  never  purchased,  nor  agreed  to  pur 
chase,  the  stock,  nor  received  any  of  its  dividends. 

Second.  That  though  an  offer  was  made,  which  I 
had  some  time  under  advisement,  to  sell  me  $1,000 
worth  of  the  stock,  I  did  not  then  know,  nor  had  I 
the  means  of  knowing,  the  conditions  with  which 
the  stock  was  connected,  or  the  method  by  which  its 
profits  were  to  be  made. 

Third.  That  my  testimony  before  the  committee 
is  a  statement  of  the  facts  as  I  have  always  under 
stood  them  ;  and  that  neither  before  the  committee, 
nor  elsewhere,  has  there  been,  on  my  part,  any  pre 
varication  or  evasion  on  the  subject. 

My  testimony  was  delivered  before  the  investigat 
ing  committee  on  the  I4th  of  January.  That  portion 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  259 

which  precedes  the  cross-examination,  I  had  written 
out  soon  after  the  committee  was  appointed.  I  quote 
it,  with  the  cross-examination,  in  full,  as  found  re 
corded  : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January   14,  1873. 

J.  A.  Garfield,  a  member  of  the  United  States 
House  of  Representatives  from  the  State  of  Ohio, 
having  been  duly  sworn,  made  the  following  state 
ment  : 

The  first  I  ever  heard  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  was 
some  time  in  1866  or  1867 — I  cannot  fix  the  date  — 
when  George  Francis  Train  called  on  me  and  said  he 
was  organizing  a  company  to  be  known  as  the  Credit 
Mobilier  of  America,  to  be  formed  on  the  model  of 
the  Credit  Mobilier  oi  France  ;  that  the  object  of  the 
company  was  to  purchase  lands  and  build  houses 
along  the  line  of  the  Pacific  railroad  at  points  where 
cities  and  villages  were  likely  to  spring  up ;  that  he 
had  no  doubt  that  money  thus  invested  would  double 
or  treble  itself  each  year  ;  that  subscriptions  were 
limited  to  $  1,000  each,  and  he  wished  me  to  subscribe. 
He  showed  me  a  long  list  of  subscribers,  among  them 
Mr.  Oakes  Ames,  to  whom  he  referred  me  for  further 
information  concerning  the  enterprise.  I  answered 
that  I  had  not  the  money  to  spare,  and  if  I  had,  I 
would  not  subscribe,  without  knowing  more  about  the 
proposed  organization.  Mr.  Train  left  me,  saying  he 
would  hold  a  place  open  for  me,  and  hoped  I  would 
yet  conclude  to  subscribe.  The  same  day  I  asked 
Mr.  Ames  what  he  thought  of  the  enterprise.  He 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  investment  would  be 
safe  and  profitable. 

I  heard  nothing  further  on  the  subject  for  a  year 
or  more,  and  it  was  almost  forgotten,  when  some 
time,  I  should  say  during  the  long  session  of  1868, 
Mr.  Ames  spoke  of  it  again  ;  said  the  company  had 


26O     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

organized,  was  doing  well,  and  he  thought  would 
soon  pay  large  dividends.  He  said  that  some  of  the 
stock  had  been  left,  or  was  to  be  left,  in  his  hands  to 
sell,  and  I  could  take  the  amount  which  Mr.  Train 
had  offered  me,  by  paying  the  $1,000  and  the  accrued 
interest.  He  said  if  I  was  not  able  to  pay  for  it  then, 
he  would  hold  it  for  me  till  I  could  pay,  or  until  some 
of  the  dividends  were  payable,  I  told  him  1^  would 
consider  the  matter  ;  but  would  not  agree  to '  take 
any  stock  until  I  knew,  from  an  examination  of  the 
charter,  and  the  conditions  of  the  subscription,  the 
extent  to  which  I  should  become  pecuniarily  liable. 
He  said  he  was  not  sure,  but  thought  a  stockholder 
would  be  liable  only  for  the  par  value  of  his  stock  ; 
that  he  had  not  the  stock  and  papers  with  him,  but 
would  have  them  after  a  while. 

From  the  case,  as  presented,  I  should  probably 
have  taken  the  stock,  if  I  had  been  satisfied  in  regard 
to  the  extent  of  pecuniary  liability.  Thus  the  matter 
rested  for  some  time,  I  think  until  the  following  year. 
During  that  interval,  I  understood  that  there  were 
dividends  due,  amounting  to  nearly  three  times  the 
par  value  of  the  stock.  But  in  the  meantime,  I  had 
heard  that  the  company  was  involved  in  some  con 
troversy  with  the  Pacific  railroad,  and  that  Mr. 
Ames'  right  to  sell  the  stock  was  denied.  When  I 
next  saw  Mr.  Ames,  I  told  him  I  had  concluded  not 
to  take  the  stock.  There  the  matter  ended,  so  far 
as  I  was  concerned,  and  I  had  no  further  knowledge 
of  the  company's  operations  until  the  subject  began 
to  be  discussed  in  the  newspapers  last  fall. 

Nothing  was  ever  said  to  me  by  Mr.  Train  or  Mr. 
Ames  to  indicate  or  imply  that  the  Credit  Mobilier 
was,  or  could  be,  in  any  way  connected  with  the  legis 
lation  of  Congress  for  the  Pacific  railroad,  or  for  any 
other  purpose.  Mr.  Ames  never  gave,  nor  offered 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES    A.  GARFIELD.  26 1 

to  give,  me  any  stock  or  other  valuable  thing  as  a 
gift.  I  once  asked  and  obtained  from  him,  and  after 
ward  repaid  to  him,  a  loan  of  $300 ;  that  amount  is 
the  only  valuable  thing  I  ever  received  from  or 
delivered  to  him. 

I  never  owned,  received,  or  agreed  to  receive  any 
stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  or  of  the  Union  Pacific 
railroad,  or  any  dividends  or  profits  arising  from 
either  of  them. 

(By  the  Chairman.) 

Question.  Had  this  loan  you  speak  of  any  connec 
tion  in  any  way  with  your  conversation  in  regard  to 
the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  ? — Answer.  No  connection 
in  any  way  except  in  regard  to  the  time  of  payment. 
Mr.  Ames  stated  to  me  that  if  I  concluded  to  sub 
scribe  for  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  I  could  allow  the 
loan  to  remain  until  the  payment  on  that  was  adjusted. 
I  never  regarded  it  as  connected  in  any  other  way 
with  the  stock  enterprise. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  time  of  that  transaction  ? 

—  A.  I   do   not   remember   it   precisely.     I    should 
think  it  was  in  the  session  of  1868.     I  had  been  to 
Europe  the  fall  before,  and  was  in  debt,  and  borrowed 
several  sums  of  money  at  different  times  and  from 
different  persons.     This  loan  from  Mr.    Ames    was 
not  at  his  instance.     I  made  the  request  myself.     I 
think  I  had  asked  one  or  two  persons  before  him  for 
the  loan. 

Q.  Have  you  any  knowledge  in  reference  to  any 
dealings  of  Mr.  Ames  with  any  gentlemen  in  Con 
gress  in  reference  to  the  stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  ? 

—  A.  No,  sir;  I  have  not.     I  had  no  knowledge  that 
Mr.  Ames  had  ever  talked  with  anybody  but  myself. 
It  was  a  subject  I  gave  but  little  attention  to  ;  in  fact, 
many  of  the  details  had  almost  passed  out  of  my  mind 
until  they  were  called  up  in  the  late  campaign. 


262      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

(By  Mr.  Black.) 

Q.  Did  you  say  you  refused  to  take  the  stock 
simply  because  there  was  a  lawsuit  about  it?  —  A. 
No  ;  not  exactly  that.  I  do  not  remember  any  other 
reason  which  I  gave  to  Mr.  Ames  than  that  I  did  not 
wish  to  take  stock  in  anything  that  would  involve 
controversy.  I  think  I  gave  him  no  other  reason 
than  that. 

Q.  When  you  ascertained  the  relation  that  this 
company  had  with  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  com 
pany,  and  whence  its  profits  were  to  be  derived, 
would  you  have  considered  that  a  sufficient  reason 
for  declining  it,  irrespective  of  otfyer  considerations  ? 
—  A.  It  would  have  been  as  the  case  was  afterward 
stated. 

Q.  At  the  time  you  talked  with  Mr.  Ames,  before 
you  rejected  the  proposition,  you  did  not  know 
whence  the  profits  of  the  company  were  to  be  de 
rived  ? —  A.  I  did  not.  I  do  not  know  that  Mr. 
Ames  withheld,  intentionally,  from  me  any  informa 
tion.  I  had  derived  my  original  knowledge  of  the 
organization  of  the  company  from  Mr.  Train.  He 
made  quite  an  elaborate  statement  of  it  purposes,  and 
I  proceeded,  in  subsequent  conversations,  upon  the 
supposition  that  the  organization  was  unchanged.  I 
ought  to  say  for  myself,  as  well  as  for  Mr.  Ames, 
that  he  never  said  any  word  to  me  that  indicated  the 
least  desire  to  influence  my  legislative  action  in  any 
way.  If  he  had  any  such  purpose,  he  certainly  never 
said  anything  to  me  which  would  indicate  it. 

Q.  You  know  now,  and  have  known  for  a  long 
time,  that  Mr.  Ames  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
legislation  on  this  subject  ?  —  A.  I  supposed  that  he 
was  largely  interested  in  the  Union  Pacific  railroad. 
I  have  heard  various  statements  to  that  effect.  I 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  263 

cannot  say  I  had  any  such  information  of  my  own 
knowledge. 

Q.  You  mean  that  he  did  not  electioneer  with  you 
or  solicit  your  vote?  —  A.  Certainly  not.  None  of 
the  conversations  I  ever  had  with  him  had  any  refer 
ence  to  such  legislation. 

(By  Mr.  Merrick.) 

Q.  Have  you  any  knowledge  of  any  other  member 
of  Congress  being  concerned  in  the  Credit  Mobilier 
stock  ?  — A.  No,  sir  ;  I  have  not. 

Q.  Or  any  stock  in  the  Union  Pacific  railroad? 
A.  I  have  not.  I  can  say  to  the  committee  that  I 
never  saw,  I  believe,  in  my  life,  a  certificate  of  stock 
of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  company,  Lnd  I  never 
saw  any  certificate  of  stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier, 
until  Mr.  Brooks  exhibited  one,  a  few  days  ago,  in 
the  House  of  Representatives. 

<2,  Were  any  dividends  ever  tendered  to  you  on 
the  stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  upon  the  supposi 
tion  that  you  were  to  be  a  subscriber?  —  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  This  loan  of  $300  you  have  repaid,  if  I  under 
stand  you  correctly  ?  — A.  Yes,  sir. 

(By  Mr.  McCrary.) 

Q.  You  never  examined  the  charter  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  to  see  what  were  its  objects?  —  A.  No,  sir; 
I  never  saw  it. 

Q,  If  I  understand  you,  you  did  not  know  that  the 
Credit  Mobilier  had  any  connection  with  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  company  ?  —  A.  I  understood  from 
the  statement  of  Mr.  Train  that  its  objects  were  con 
nected  with  the  lands  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad 
company,  and  the  development  of  settlements  along 
that  road  ;  but  that  it  had  any  relation  to  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  company,  other  than  that,  I  did  not 
know.  I  think  I  did  hear,  also,  that  the  company 


264      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

was  'investing  some  of  its  earnings  in  the  bonds  of 
the  road. 

Q.  He  stated  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  pur 
chasing  land  and  building  houses  ?  —  A.  That  was 
the  statement  of  Mr.  Train.  I  think  he  said,  in  that 
connection,  that  he  had  already  been  doing  some 
thing  of  that  kind  at  Omaha,  or  was  going  to  do  it. 

Q.  You  did  not  know  that  the  object  was  to  build 
the  Union  Pacific  railroad? — A.  No,  sir;  I  did  not. 

This  is  the  case  as  I  understand  it,  and  as  I  have 
always  understood  it.  In  reviewing  it,  after  all  that 
has  been  said  and  written,  there  are  no  substantial 
changes  which  I  could  now  make,  except  to  render 
a  few  points  more  definite.  Few  men  can  be  certain 
that  they  give,  with  absolute  correctness,  the  details 
of  conversations  and  transactions,  after  a  lapse  of 
five  years.  Subject  to  this  limitation,  I  have  no 
doubt  of  the  accuracy  of  my  remembrance  concern 
ing  this  transaction. 

From  this  testimony,  it  will  be  seen  that,  when  Mr. 
Ames  offered  to  sell  me  the  stock  in  iS6/-'68,  my 
only  knowledge  of  the  character  and  objects  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier  company  was  obtained  from  Mr. 
Train,  at  least,  as  early  as  the  winter  of  i866-'6/, 
long  before  the  company  had  become  a  party  to  the 
construction  contract.  *  It  has  been  said  that  I  am 
mistaken  in  thinking  it  was  the  Credit  Mobilier  that 
Mr.  Train  offered  me  in  i866-'6/.  I  think  I  am  not. 
Mr.  Durant,  in  explaining  his  connection  with  the 
Credit  Mobilier,  says  : 

I  sent  Mr.  Train  to  Philadelphia.  We  wanted  it 
(the  Credit  Mobilier)  for  a  stock  operation,  but  we 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       265 

could  not  agree  what  was  to  be  done  with  it.  Mr. 
Train  proposed  to  go  on  an  expanded  scale,  but  I 
abandoned  it.  I  think  Mr.  Train  got  some  subscrip 
tions  ;  what  they  were  I  do  not  know. 

It  has  been  said  that  it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that 
intelligent  men,  familiar  with  public  affairs,  did  not 
understand  all  about  the  relation  of  the  Credit  Mo- 
bilier  company  to  the  Pacific  railroad  company.  It 
is  a  sufficient  answer  to  say  that,  until  the  present 
winter,  few  men,  either  in  or  out  of  Congress,  ever 
understood  it ;  and  it  was  for  the  interest  of  those  in 
the  management  of  that  arrangement  to  prevent 
these  facts  from  being  known.  This  will  appear 
from  the  testimony  of  Hon.  J.  F.  Wilson,  who  pur 
chased  ten  shares  of  the  stock  in  1867.  In  the 
spring  of  1869,  he  was  called  on  professionally  to 
give  an  opinion  as  to  the  right  of  holders  of  Pacific 
railroad  stock  to  vote  their  own  shares,  notwith 
standing  the  proxy  they  had  given  to  the  seven 
trustees.  To  enable  him  to  understand  the  case,  a 
copy  of  the  triple  contract  was  placed  in  his  hands. 
He  says  : 

Down  to  the  time  these  papers  were  placed  in  my 
hands,  I  knew  almost  nothing  of  the  organization 
and  details  of  the  Credit  Mobiher,  or  the  value  of  its 
stock,  but  then  saw  that  here  was  abundant  ground 
for  future  trouble  and  litigation  ;  and,  as  one  of  the 
results,  sold  out  my  interest. 

And  again : 

Q.  Do  you,  or  did  you  know,  at  the  time  you  had 
this  negotiation  with  Mr.  Ames,  the  value  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier  stock  ? — A.  I  did  not;  and  I  wish 


266      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

to  state  here,  in  regard  to  that,  that  it  was  a  very 
difficult  thing  to  ascertain  what  was  the  value  of  the 
stock.  Those  who,  as  I  say  in  my  statement,  pos 
sessed  the  secrets  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  kept  them 
to  themselves  ;  and  I  never  was  able  to  get  any 
definite  information  as  to  what  the  value  of  the  stock 
was. 

When,  in  the  winter  of  i867~'68,  Mr.  Ames  pro 
posed  to  sell  me  some  of  the  stock,  I  regarded  it  as 
a  mere  repetition  of  the  offer  made  by  Mr.  Train, 
more  than  a  year  before.  The  company  was  the 
same,  and  the  amount  offered  me  was  the  same.  Mr. 
Ames  knew  it  had  formerly  been  offered  me,  for  I 
had  then  asked  him  his  opinion  of  such  an  invest 
ment  ;  and  having  understood  the  objects  of  the 
company,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Train,  I  did  not  inquire 
further  on  that  point. 

There  could  not  be  the  slightest  impropriety  in 
taking  the  stock,  if  the  objects  of  the  company 
were  such  as  Mr.  Train  represented  them  to  me. 
The  only  question  on  which  I  then  hesitated,  was 
the  personal  pecuniary  liability  attached  to  a  sub 
scription  ;  and,  to  settle  that  question,  I  asked  to  see 
the  charter,  and  the  conditions  on  which  the  stock 
was  based.  I  have  no  doubt  Mr.  Ames  expected  I 
would  subscribe.  But  more  than  a  year  passed  with 
out  further  discussion  of  the  subject.  The  papers 
were  not  brought,  and  the  purchase  was  never 
made. 

In  the  winter  of  1869-' 70,  I  received  the  first 
intimation  I  ever  had  of  the  nature  of  the  connec- 


OP  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       26/ 

tion  between  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  and  the 
Pacific  railroad  company,  in  a  private  conversation 
with  the  Hon.  J.  S.  Black  of  Pennsylvania.  Find 
ing,  in  the  course  of  that  conversation,  that  he  was 
familiar  with  the  history  of  the  enterprise,  I  told  him 
all  I  knew  about  the  matter,  and  informed  him  of  the 
offer  that  had  been  made  me.  He  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  managers  of  the  Credit  Mobilier 
were  attempting  to  defraud  the  Pacific  railroad  com 
pany,  and  informed  me  that  Mr.  Ames  was  pretend 
ing  to  have  sold  stock  to  members  of  Congress,  for 
the  purpose  of  influencing  their  action  in  any  legis- 
tion  that  might  arise  on  the  subject. 

Though  I  had  neither  done  or  said  anything  which 
placed  me  under  any  obligation  to  take  the  stock,  I 
at  once  informed  Mr.  Ames,  that  if  he  was  still  hold 
ing  the  offer  open  to  me,  he  need  do  so  no  longer, 
for  I  would  not  tare  the  stock.  This  I  did  immedi 
ately  after  the  conversation  with  Judge  Black,  which, 
according  to  his  own  recollection,  as  well  as  mine, 
was  early  in  the  winter  of  1869-70. 

One  circumstance  has  given  rise  to  a  painful  con 
flict  of  testimony  between  Mr.  Ames  and  myself.  I 
refer  to  the  loan  of  $300."  Among  the  various  criti 
cisms  that  have  been  made  on  this  subject,  it  is  said 
to  be  a  suspicious  circumstance,  that  I  should  have 
borrowed  so  small  a  sum  of  money  from  Mr.  Ames, 
about  this  time.  As  stated  in  my  testimony,  I  had 
just  returned  from  Europe,  only  a  few  days  before 
the  session  began,  and  the  expenses  of  the  trip  had 
brought  me  short  of  funds.  I  might  have  alluded  in 


268      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

* 

the  same  connection  to  the  fact  that,  before  going 
abroad,  I  had  obtained  money  from  a  banker  in  New 
York,  turning  over  to  him  advanced  drafts  for  sev 
eral  months  of  my  congressional  salary,  when  it 
should  be  due ;  and,  needing  a  small  sum,  early  in 
the  session,  for  current  expenses,  I  asked  it  of  Mr. 
Ames,  for  the  reason  that  he  had  volunteered  to  put 
me  in  the  way  of  making  what  he  thought  would  be 
a  profitable  investment.  He  gave  me  the  money, 
asking  for  no  receipt,  but  saying,  at  the  same  time, 
that  if  I  concluded  to  take  the  stock,  we  would  settle 
both  matters  together.  I  am  not  able  to  fix  the 
exact  date  of  the  loan,  but  it  was  probably  in  Janu 
ary,  1868. 

Mr.  Ames  seems  to  have  forgotten  this  circum 
stance,  until  I  mentioned  it  to  him,  after  the  investi 
gation  began ;  for  he  said,  in  his  first  testimony, 
that  he  had  forgotten  that  he  had  let  me  have  any 
money.  I  neglected  to  pay  him  this  money,  until 
after  the  conversation  with  Judge  Black,  partly  be 
cause  of  my  pecuniary  embarrassments,  and  partly 
because  no  conclusion  had  been  reached  in  regard  to 
the  purchase  of  the  stock.  When  I  paid  him,  I  took 
no  receipt,  as  I  had  given  none  at  the  first. 

Mr.  Ames  said  once  or  twice,  in  the  course  of  his 
testimony,  that  I  did  not  repay  it,  although  he  says, 
in  regard  to  it,  that  he  does  not  know,  and  cannot 
remember. 

On  these  differences  of  recollection  between  Mr. 
Ames  and  myself,  it  is  not  so  important  to  show  that 
my  statement  is  the  correct  one,  as  to  show  that  I 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      269 

have  made  it  strictly  in  accordance  with  my  under 
standing  of  the  facts.  And  this  I  am  able  to  show 
by  proof  entirely  independent  of  my  own  testimony. 

In  the  spring  of  1868,  Hon.  J.  P.  Robison  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  was  my  guest  here  in  Washington, 
and  spent  nearly  two  weeks  with  me,  during  the  trial 
of  the  impeachment  of  Andrew  Johnson.  There  has 
existed  between  us  an  intimate  acquaintance  of  long 
standing,  and  I  have  often  consulted  him  on  business 
affairs.  -On  meeting  him  since  the  adjournment  of 
Congress,  he  informed  me  that,  while  he  was  visiting 
me  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  I  stated  to  him  the 
offer  of  Mr.  Ames,  and  asked  him  his  opinion  of  it. 
The  following  letter,  just  received  from  him,  states 
the  conversation  as  he  remembers  it : 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO,  May  i,  1873. 

Dear  General:  —  I  send  you  the  facts  concerning  a 
conversation  I  had  with  you  (I  think  in  the  spring  of 
1868)  when  I  was  stopping  in  Washington  for  some 
days,  as  your  guest,  during  the  trial  of  the  impeach 
ment  of  President  Johnson.  While  there,  you  told 
me  that  Mr.  Ames  had  offered  you  a  chance  to  invest 
a  small  amount  in  a  company  that  was  to  operate  in 
lands  and  buildings  along  the  Pacific  railroad,  which 
he  (Ames)  said  would  be  a  good  thing.  You  asked 
me  what  I  thought  of  it  as  a  business  proposition, 
that  you  had  not  determined  what  you  would  do 
about  it,  and  suggested  to  me  to  talk  with  Ames, 
and  form  my  own  judgment,  and  if  I  thought  well 
enough  of  it  to  advance  the  money  and  buy  the  stock 
on  joint  account  with  you,  and  let  you  pay  me  inter 
est  on  the  one-half,  I  could  do  so.  But  I  did  not 
think  well  of  the  proposition  as  a  business  enterprise", 
and  did  not  talk  with  Ames  on  the  subject 


27O      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

After  this  talk,  having  at  first  told  you  I  would 
give  the  subject  thought,  and  perhaps  talk  with 
Ames,  I  told  you  one  evening  that  I  did  not  think 
well  of  the  proposition,  and  had  not  spoken  to  Ames 
on  the  subject. 

Yours,  truly, 

J.  P.  ROBISON. 
Hon.  J.  A.  GARFIELD. 

I  subjoin  two  other  letters,  which  were  written 
about  the  time  the  report  of  the  committee  was  made, 
and  to  which  I  refer  in  my  remarks  made  on  the  $d 
of  March,  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  The 
first  is  from  a  citizen  of  the  town  where  I  reside ; 
and  the  time  of  the  conversation  to  which  it  alludes, 
was,  as  near  as  I  can  remember,  in  the  fall  of  1868, 
during  the  recess  of  Congress  : 

HIRAM,  OHIO,  February  18,  1873. 

Dear  Sir:  —  It  may  be  relevant  to  the  question  at 
issue  between  yourself  and  Mr.  Oakes  Ames,  in  the 
Credit  Mobilier  investigation,  for  me  to  state  that, 
three  or  four  years  ago,  in  a  private  conversation,  you 
made  a  statement  to  me  involving  the  substance  of 
your  testimony  before  the  Poland  committee,  as  pub 
lished  in  the  newspapers.  The  material  points  of 
your  statement  were  these  : 

That  you  had  been  spoken  to  by  George  Francis 
Train,  who  offered  you  some  shares  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  stock ;  that  you  told  him  that  you  had  no 
money  to  invest  in  stocks;  that  subsequently  you 
had  a  conversation  in  relation  to  the  matter  with  Mr. 
Ames  ;  that  Ames  offered  to  carry  the  stock  for  you 
until  you  could  pay  for  it,  if  you  cared  to  buy  it ;  and 
that  you  had  told  him  in  that  case  perhaps  you  would 
take  it,  but  would  not  agree  to  do  so  until  you  had 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 

inquired  more  fully  into  the  matter.  Such  an  ar 
rangement  as  this  was  made,  Ames  agreeing  to  carry 
the  stock  until  you  should  decide.  In  this  way,  the 
matter  stood,  as  I  understood  it,  at  the  time  of  our 
conversation.  My  understanding  was  distinct  that 
you  had  not  accepted  Mr.  Ames'  proposition,  but  that 
the  shares  were  still  held  at  your  option. 

You  stated,  further,  that  the  company  was  to  oper 
ate  in  real  property  along  the  line  of  the  Pacific 
road.  Perhaps,  I  should  add  that  this  conversation, 
which  I  have  always  remembered  very  distinctly, 
took  place  here,  in  Hiram.  I  have  remembered  the 
conversation  the  more  distinctly  from  the  circum 
stances  that  gave  rise  to  it.  Having  been  intimately 
acquainted  with  you  for  twelve  or  fifteen  years,  and 
having  had  a  considerable  knowledge  of  your  pecun 
iary  affairs,  I  asked  you  how  you  were  getting  on, 
and  especially  whether  you  were  managing  to  reduce 
your  debts.  In  reply,  you  gave  me  a  detailed  state 
ment  of  your  affairs,  and  concluded,  by  saying  you  had 
had  some  stock  offered  you,  which,  if  you  bought  it, 
would  probably  make  you  some  money.  You  then 
proceeded  to  state  the  case,  as  I  have  stated  it  above. 

I  cannot  fix  the  time  of  the  conversation  more 
definitely  than  to  say  it  was  certainly  three,  and 
probably  four,  years  ago. 

Very  truly,  yours, 

B.  A.    HlNSDALE, 

President  of  Hiram  College. 
Hon.  J.  A.  GARFIELD,  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  other  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Speaker  of 
the  House,  and  is  as  follows : 

PHILADELPHIA,  February  15,  1873. 

My  Dear  Sir  : — From  the  beginning  of  the  investi 
gation  concerning  Mr.  Ames'  use  of  the  Credit  Mo- 


2/2  .    THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

bilier,  I  believe  that  General  Garfield  was  free  from 
all  guilty  connection  with  that  business.  This  opin 
ion  was  founded,  not  merely  on  my  confidence  in  his 
integrity,  but  on  some  special  knowledge  of  his  case. 
I  may  have  told  you  all  about  it  in  conversation,  but 
I  desire  now  to  repeat  it,  by  way  of  reminder. 

I  assert  unhesitatingly  that,  whatever  General  Gar- 
field  may  have  done,  or  forborne  to  do,  he  'acted  in 
profound  ignorance  of  the  nature  and  character  of 
the  thing  which  Mr.  Ames  was  proposing  to  sell. 
He  had  not  the  slightest  suspicion  that  he  was  to  be 
taken  into  a  ring  organized  for  the  purpose  of  de 
frauding  the  public ;  nor  did  he  know  that  the  stock 
was  in  any  manner  connected  with  anything  which 
came,  or  could  come,  within  the  legislative  jurisdic 
tion  of  Congress.  The  case  against  him  lacks  the 
scienter  which  alone  constitutes  guilt. 

In  the  winter  of  1869-70,  I  told  General  Garfield 
of  the  fact  that  his  name  was  on  Arnes'  list ;  that 
Ames  charged  him  with  being  one  of  his  distributees ; 
explained  to  him  the  character,  origin  and  objects  of 
the  Credit  Mobilier;  pointed  out  the  connection  it 
had  with  congressional  legislation,  and  showed  him 
how  impossible  it  was  for  a  member  of  Congress  to 
hold  stock  in  it  without  bringing  his  private  interests 
in  conflict  with  his  public  duty.  That  all  this  was  to 
him  a  perfectly  new  revelation,  I  am  as  sure  as  I  can 
be  of  such  a  fact,  or  of  any  fact,  which  is  capable  of 
being  proved  only  by  moral  circumstances.  He  told 
me,  then,  the  whole  story  of  Train's  offer  to  him,  and 
Ames'  subsequent  solicitation,  and  his  own  action  in 
the  premises,  much  as  he  details  it  to  the  committee. 
I  do  not  undertake  to  reproduce  the  conversation  ; 
but  the  effect  of  it  all  was  to  convince  me  thoroughly 
that,  when  he  listened  to  Ames,  he  was  perfectly  un 
conscious  of  anything  evil.  I  watched  carefully 
every  word  that  fell  from  him  on  this  point,  and  did 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  2/3 

not  regard  his  narrative  of  the  transaction,  in  other 
respects,  with  much  interest,  because,  in  my  view, 
everything  else  was  insignificant.  I  did  not  care 
whether  he  had  made  a  bargain  technically  binding 
or  not;  his  integrity  depended  upon  the  question, 
whether  he  acted  with  his  eyes  open.  If  he  had 
known  the  true  character  of  the  proposition  made  to 
him,  he  would  not  have  endured  it,  much  less  em 
braced  it. 

Now,  couple  this  with  Mr.  Ames'  admission  that 
he  gave  no  explanation  whatever  of  the  matter  to 
General  Garfield ;  then,  reflect  that  riot  a  particle  of 
proof  exists  to  show  that  he  learned  anything  about 
it,  previous  to  his  conversation  with  me,  and  I  think 
you  will  say  that  it  is  altogether  unjust  to  put  him  on 
the  list  of  those  who,  knowingly  and  willfully,  joined 
the  fraudulent  association  in  question. 

J.  S.  BLACK. 

Hon.  J.  G.  ELAINE, 

Speaker  of  House  of  Representatives. 

To  these  may  be  added  the  facts,  recently  pub 
lished  by  Colonel  Donn  Piatt  of  this  city,  that,  in 
the  winter  of  1869-' 70,  he  had  occasion  to  look  into 
the  history  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  company,  and 
found  the  same  state  of  facts  concerning  my  connec 
tion  with  it,  as  are  set  forth  in  the  letters  quoted 
above. 

Whether  my  understanding  of  the  facts  is  correct 
or  not,  it  is  manifest,  from  the  testimony  given  above, 
that,  in' the  spring  of  1868,  and  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year,  and  again  in  the  winter  of  1869;  when  I  could 
have  no  motive  to  mis-represent  the  facts,  I  stated  the 
18 


2/4      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

case  to  these  gentlemen,  substantially  as  it  is  stated 
in  my  testimony  before  the  committee. 

But  it  has  been  charged  in  the  newspapers  that, 
during  the  Presidential  campaign,  I  denied  any 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  or,  at  least,  that  I  allowed 
the  impression  to  be  made  upon  the  public  mind  that 
I  knew  nothing  of  it.  To  this  answer,  I  wrote  no 
letter  on  the  subject,  and  made  no  statement  in  any 
public  address,  except  to  deny,  in  the  broadest  terms, 
the  only  charge  then  made,  —  that  I  had  been  bribed 
by  Oakes  Ames; 

When  the  charges  first  appeared  in  the  newspapers, 
I  was  in  Montana  Territory,  and  heard  nothing  of 
them  until  my  return,  on  the  I3th  or  I4th  of  Septem 
ber.  On  the  following  day,  I  met  General  Boynton, 
correspondent  of  the  Cincinnati  Gazette,  and  related 
to  him,  briefly,  what  I  remembered  about  the  offer  to 
sell  the  stock.  I  told  him  I  should  write  no  letter 
on  the  subject,  but  if  he  thought  best  to  publish  the 
substance  of  what  I  had  stated  to  him,  he  could  do 
so.  The  same  day  he  wrote  and  telegraphed  from 
Washington,  to  the  Cincinnati  Gazette,  under  date  of 
September  15,  1872,  the  following,  which  is  a  brief 
but  correct  report  of  my  statement  to  him  : 

General  Garfield,  who  has  just  arrived  here  from 
the  Indian  country,  has  to-day  had  the  first  opportu 
nity  of  seeing  the  charges  connecting  his  name  with 
receiving  shares  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  from  Oakes 
Ames.  He  authorizes  the  statement  that  he  never 
subscribed  for  a  single  share  of  the  stock,  and  that 
he  never  received,  or  saw  a  share  of  it.  When  the 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES  A.    GARFIELD.  2?$ 

company  was  first  formed,  George  Francis  Train, 
then  active  in  it,  came  to  Washington,  and  exhibited 
a  list  of  subscribers,  of  leading  capitalists,  and  some 
members  of  Congress,  to  the  stock  of  the  company. 
The  subscription  was  described  as  a  popular  one  of 
$1,000  cash.  Train  urged  General  Garfield  to  sub 
scribe,  on  two  occasions,  and  each  time,  he  declined. 
Subsequently,  he  was  again  informed  that  the  list  was 
nearly  completed,  but  that  a  chance  remained  for 
him  to  subscribe,  when  he  again  declined  ;  and  to  this 
day,  he  has  not  subscribed  for,  or  received,  any  share 
of  stock  or  bond  of  the  company. 

This  dispatch  was  widely  copied  in  the  newspapers 
at  the  time,  and  was  the  only  statement  I  made  or 
authorized.  One  thing  in  connection  with  the  case, 
I  withheld  from  the  public.  When  I  saw  the  letters 
of  Oakes  Ames  to  Mr.  McComb,  I  was  convinced, 
from  what  Judge  Black  had  told  me,  in  1869,  that 
they  were  genuine,  and  that  Ames  had  pretended  to 
McComb  that  he  had  sold  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  influence  of  members 
of  Congress  in  any  legislation  that  might  arise  touch 
ing  his  interests.  I  might  have  published  the  fact 
that  I  had  heard  this,  and  now  believed  Ames  had  so 
represented  it  ;  though,  at  the  time  Judge  Black  gave 
me  the  information,  I  thought  quite  likely  he  was 
mistaken.  I  did  not  know  to  what  extent  any  other 
member  of  Congress  had  had  negotiations  with  Mr. 
Ames  ;  but  knowing  the  members  whose  names  were 
published  in  connection  with  the  charges,  and  be 
lieving  them  to  be  men  of  the  highest  integrity,  I 
did  not  think  it  just,  either  to  them,  or  to  the  party 


2/6      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 

with  which  we  acted,  to  express  my  opinion  of  the 
genuineness  of  Ames'  letters,  at  a  time  when  a  false 
construction  would  doubtless  have  been  placed  upon 
it. 

Here,  I  might  rest  the  case,  but  for  some  of  the 
testimony  given  by  Mr.  Ames,  in  reference  to  myself. 
I  shall  consider  it  carefully,  and  shall  make  quota 
tions  of  his  language,  or  refer  to  it,  as  printed  in 
the  report,  so  that  the  correctness  of  my  citations 
may,  in  every  case,  be  verified. 

To  bring  the  discussion  into  as  narrow  a  compass 
as  possible,  the  points  of  agreement  and  difference 
between  Mr.  Ames  and  myself  may  thus  be  stated : 

We  agree  that,  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the 
session  of  i86/-'8,  Mr.  Ames  offered  to  sell  me  ten 
shares  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock,  at  par  and  the 
accrued  interest ;  that  I  never  paid  him  any  money 
on  that  offer ;  that  I  never  received  a  certificate  of 
stock;  that  after  the  month  of  June,  1868,  I  never 
received,  demanded,  or  was  offered  any  dividend,  in 
any  form,  on  that  stock.  We  also  agree  that  I  once 
received  from  Mr.  Ames  a  small  sum  of  money.  On 
the  following  points  we  disagree :  He  claims  that  I 
agreed  to  take  the  stock.  I  deny  it.  He  claims  that 
I  received  from  him  $329,  and  no  more,  as  a  balance 
of  dividends  on  the  stock.  This  I  deny,  and  assert 
that  I  borrowed  from  him  $300,  and  no  more,  and 
afterwards  returned  it ;  and  that  I  have  never  re 
ceived  anything  from  him  on  account  of  the  stock. 

In  discussing  the  testimony  relating  to  myself,  it 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

becomes  necessary,  for  a  full  exhibition  of  the  argu 
ment,  to  refer  to  that  concerning  others. 

It  has  been  said  that  in  Mr.  Ames'  first  testimony, 
he  withheld,  or  concealed,  the  facts  generally ;  and 
hence,  that  what  he  said  at  that  time,  concerning  any 
one  person,  is  of  but  little  consequence.  The  weight 
and  value  of  his  first  testimony,  concerning  any  one 
person,  can  be  ascertained  only  by  comparing  it  with 
his  testimony,  given  at  the  same  examination)  con 
cerning  others. 

In  that  first  examination,  of  December  17,  Mr. 
Ames  mentions,  by  name,  sixteen  -members  of  Con 
gress,  who  were  said  to  have  had  dealings  with  him, 
in  reference  to  Credit  Mobilier  stock.  Eleven  of 
these,  he  says,  in  that  testimony,  bought  the  stock; 
but  he  there  sets  me  down  among  the  five  who  did 
not  buy  it.  He  says :  '  He  [Garfield]  did  not  pay 
for  it  or  receive  it.' 

He  was,  at  the  same  time,  cross-examined,  in  re 
gard  to  the  dividends  he  paid  to  different  persons ; 
and  he  testified  that  he  paid  one  or  more  dividends 
to  eight  different  members  of  Congress,  and  that 
three  others,  being  original  subscribers,  drew  their 
dividends,  not  from  him,  but  directly  from  the  com 
pany.  To  several  of  the  eight,  he  says,  he  paid  all 
the  dividends  that  accrued.  But,  in  the  same  cross- 
examination,  he  testified  that  he  did  not  remember 
to  have  paid  me  any  dividends,  nor  that  he  had  let 
me  have  any  money.  The  following  is  the  whole  of 
his  testimony  concerning  me,  on  cross-examination  : 

Q.  In  reference  to  Mr.  Garfield,  you  say  that  you 


2/8      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC  SERVICES 

agreed  to  get  ten  shares  for  him,  and  to  hold  them 
till  he  could  pay  for  them,  and  that  he  never  did  pay 
for  them,  nor  receive  them  ?  —  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  He  never  paid  any  money  on  that  stock,  nor  re 
ceived  any  money  from  it  ?  —  A.  Not  on  account  of 
it. 

Q.  He  received  no  dividends? — A.  No,  sir;  I 
think  not.  He  says  he  did  not.  My  own  recollec 
tion  is  not  very  clear. 

Q.  So  that,  as  you  understand,  Mr.  Garfield  never 
parted  with  any  money,  nor  received  any  money  on 
that  transaction? — A.  No,  sir;  he  had  some  money 
from  me  once,  some  three  or  four  hundred  dollars, 
and  called  it  a  loan.  He  says  that  that  is  all  he  ever 
received  from  me,  and  that  he  considered  it  a  loan. 
He  never  took  his  stock,  and  never  paid  for  it. 

Q.  Did  you  understand  it  so?  —  A.  Yes;  I  am 
willing  to  so  understand  it,  I  do  not  recollect  pay 
ing  him  any  dividend,  and  have  forgotten  that  I  paid 

him  any  money. 

******** 

Q.  Who  received  the  dividends? — A.  Mr.  Patter 
son,  Mr.  Bingham,  James  F.  Wilson  ;  and  I  think  Mr. 
Colfax  received  a  part  of  them.  I  do  not  know 
whether  he  received  them  all  or  not.  I  think  Mr. 
Scofield  received  a  part  of  them.  Messrs.  Kelley  and 
Garfield  never  paid  for  their  stock,  and  never  received 
their  dividends. 

Certainly,  it  cannot  be  said  that  Mr.  Ames  has 
evinced  any  partiality  for  me  ;  and  if  he  was  attempt 
ing  to  shield  any  of  those  concerned,  it  will  not  be 
claimed  that  I  was  one  of  his  favorites. 

In  his  first  testimony,  he  claims  to  have  spoken 
from  memory,  and  without  the  aid  of  his  documents. 
But  he  did,  then,  distinctly  testify  that  he  sold  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      2/9 

stock  to  eleven  members,  and  paid  dividends  to  eight 
of  them.  He  not  only  did  not  put  me  in  either  of 
those  lists,  but  distinctly  testified  that  I  never  took 
the  stock,  nor  received  the  dividends  arising  from  it. 

His  second  testimony  was  given  on  the  22d  of 
January,  five  weeks  after  his  first.  In  assigning  to 
this,  and  all  his  subsequent  testimony,  its  just  weight, 
it  ought  to  be  said,  that  before  he  gave  it,  an  event 
occurred  which  made  it  strongly  for  his  interest  to 
prove  a  sale  of  the  stock  which  he  held  as  trustee. 
Besides  the  fact  that  McComb  had  already  an  equity 
suit  pending  in  Philadelphia,  to  compel  Mr.  Ames  to 
account  to  him  for  this  same  stock ;  another  suit  was 
threatened,  after  he  had  given  his  first  testimony,  to 
make  him  account  to  the  company  for  all  the  stock 
he  had  not  sold  as  trustee.  His  first  testimony  was 
.  given  on  the  1 7th  of  December,  and  was  made  public 
on  the  6th  of  January.  On  the  1 5th  of  January,  T.  C. 
Durant,  one  of  the  heaviest  stockholders  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  company,  and,  for  a  long  time,  its  president, 
was  examined  as  a  witness,  and  said,  'The  stock 
that  stands  in  the  name  of  Mr.  Ames,  as  trustee, 
I  claim  belongs  to  the  company  yet ;  and  I  have  a 
summons  in  a  suit,  in  my  pocket,  waiting  to  catch  him 
in  New  York  to  serve  the  papers.'  Of  course,  if,  as 
a  trustee,  he  had  made  sale  of  any  portion  of  this 
stock,  and  afterward,  as  an  individual,  had  bought  k 
back,  he  could  not  be  compelled  to  return  it  to  the 
company. 

Nowhere  in  Mr.  Ames*  subsequent  testimony  does 
he  claim  to  remember  the  transaction  between  him- 


28O     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

self  and  me,  any  differently  from  what  he  first  stated 
it  to  be.  But  from  the  memoranda  found,  or  made, 
after  his  first  examination,  he  infers  and  declares  that 
there  was  a  sale  of  the  stock  to  me,  and  a  payment 
to  me  of  $329,  on  account  of  dividends. 

Here,  again,  his  testimony  concerning  me  should 
be  compared  with  his  testimony  given  at  the  same 
time  concerning  others. 

The.  memoranda,  out  of  which  all  his  additional 
testimony  grew,  consisted  of  certificates  of  stock, 
receipts,  checks  on  the  sergeant-at-arms,  and  entries 
in  his  diary.  I  will  consider  these  in  the  order 
stated. 

To  two  members  of  Congress,  he  delivered  certifi 
cates  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock,  which  as  trustee  he 
had  sold  to  them  ;  and  in  a  third  case,  he  delivered 
a  certificate  of  stock  to  the  person  to  whom  a  mem 
ber  had  sold  it.  But  Mr.  Ames  testifies  that  he  never 
gave  me  a  certificate  of  stock;  that  I  never  de 
manded  one  ;  and  that  no  certificate  was  ever  spoken 
of  between  us. 

In  the  case  of  five  members,  he  gave  to  them,  or 
received  from  them,  regular  receipts  of  payment  on 
account  of  stock  and  dividends.  But  nowhere  is  it 
claimed,  or  pretended,  that  any  receipt  was  ever  given 
by  me,  or  to  me,  on  account  of  any  dividends  arising 
from  it. 

Again,  to  five  of  the  members,  Mr.  Ames  gave 
checks  on  the  sergeant-at-arms,  payable  to  them  by 
name ;  and  these  checks  were  produced  in  evidence. 
Jn  the  case  of  three  others,  he  produced  checks  bear- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      28l 

ing  on  their  face  the  initials  of  the  persons  to  whom 
he  claimed  they  were  paid.  But  he  nowhere  pretended 
to  have,  or  ever  to  have  had  any  check  bearing  either 
my  name  or  my  initials,  or  any  mark  or  indorsement 
connecting  it  with  me, 

In  regard  to  dividends  claimed,  in  his  subsequent 
testimony,  to  have  been  paid  to  different  members,  in 
two  cases,  he  says  he  paid  all  the  dividends  that  ac 
crued  on  the  stock  from  December,  1867,  to  May  6, 
1871.  In  a  third  case,  all  the  accretions  of  the  stock 
were  received  by  the  person  to  whom  he  sold  it,  as 
the  result  of  a  re-sale.  In  a  fourth  case,  he  claims  to 
have  paid  money  on  the  22d  of  September,  1868,  on 
account  of  dividends,  and  in  a  fifth  case,  he  claims  to 
have  paid  a  dividend  in  full,  January  22,  1869.  One 
purchaser  sold  his  ten  shares  in  the  winter  of  i868-'69, 
and  received  thereon  a  net  profit  of  at  least  $3,000. 
Yet  Mr.  Ames  repeatedly  swears  that  he  never  paid 
me  but  $329  ;  that  afterjune,  1868,  he  never  tend 
ered  to  me,  nor  did  I  ever  demand  from  him,  any  divi 
dend;  and  that  there  was  never  any  conversation 
between  us  relating  to  dividends. 

After  Mr.  Ames  had  stated  that  he  remembered 
no  conversation  between  us  in  regard  to  the  adjust 
ment  of  these  accounts,  the  committee  asked : 

Q.  Was  this  the  only  dealing  you  had  with  him  in 
reference  to  any  stock  ? — A.  I  think  so. 

Q.  Was  it  the  only  transaction  of  any  kind  ?  —  A. 
The  oiJy  transaction. 

Q.  Has  that  $329  ever  been  paid  to  you?  —  A.  I 
have  no  recollection  of  it. 


282      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC  SERVICES 

Q.  Have  you  any  belief  that  it  ever  has? — A.  No, 
sir. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  !oan  General  Garfield  £300?  — 
A.  Not  to  my  knowledge;  except  that  he  calls  this  a 
loan. 

Q.  There  were  dividends  of  Union  Pacific  railroad 
stock  on  these  ten  shares? — A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  General  Garfield  ever  receive  these?  —  A. 
No,  sir.  He  never  has  received  but  $329.  #  *  * 

Q.  Has  there  been  any  conversation  between  you 
and  him  in  reference  to  the  Pacific  stock  he  was 
entitled  to? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.   Has  he  ever  called  for  it  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.   Have  you  ever  offered  it  to  him  ? — A,  No,  sir. 

Q.  Has  there  been  any  conversation  in  relation  to 
it?  —  A.  No,  sir. 

The  assertion  that  he  withheld  the  payment  of 
dividends,  because  of  the  McComb  suit,  brought  in 
November,  1868,  is  wholly  broken  down  by  the  fact 
that  he  did  pay  the  dividends  to  several  persons  dur 
ing  a  period  of  two  years,  after  the  suit  was  com 
menced. 

The  only  other  memoranda  offered  as  evidence  are 
the  entries  in  Mr.  Ames'  diary  for  1868.  That 
book  contains  a  separate  statement  of  an  account 
with  eleven  members  of  Congress,  showing  the  num 
ber  of  shares  of  stock  sold,  or  intended  to  be  sold, 
to  each,  with  the  interest  and  dividends  thereon. 
Across  the  face  of  nine  of  these  accounts,  long  lines 
are  drawn,  crossing  each  other,  showing,  as  Mr. 
Ames  says,  that  in  each  such  case  the  account  was 
adjusted  and  closed.  Three  of  these  entries  of  ac 
counts  are  thus  crossed  off,  and  the  three  members 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  283 

referred  to  therein  testify  that  they  never  bought 
the  stock.  The  account  entered  under  my  name  is 
one  of  the  three  that  are  not  crossed  off.  Here 
is  the  entry  in  full. 

GARFIELD, 

I o  shares  Credit  M.         .         ...-•-.        .       $1,000  oo 
7  mos.  i o  days    .        .        .        .      -  ».       •        .          43  36 

$1,043  36 
80  per  ct.  bd.  div. ,  at  97  .  77600 

$267  36 
Int'st  to  June  20        .         .        .        ,        .        .  3  64 

271  oo 
1,000  C.  M. 
i.oooU.  P. 

This  entry  is  a  mere  undated  memorandum,  and 
indicates  neither  payment,  settlement  or  sale.  In 
reference  to  it,  the  following  testimony  was  given  by 
Mr.  Ames,  on  cross-examination  : 

Q.  This  statement  of  Mr.  Garfield's  account  is  not 
crossed  off,  which  indicates,  does  it,  that  the  mat 
ter  has  never  been  settled  or  adjusted  ?  — A.  No,  sir , 
it  never  has.  4- 

Q.  Can  you  state  whether  you  have  any  other 
entry  in  relation  to  Mr.  Garfield  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Comparing  Mr.  Ames'  testimony  in  reference  to 
me,  with  that  in  reference  to  others,  it  appears  that 
when  he  testified  from  his  memory  alone,  he  dis 
tinctly  and  affirmatively  excepted  me  from  the  list  of 
those  who  bought  the  stock,  or  received  the  divi 
dends  ;  and  that  subsequently,  in  every  case  save  my 
own,  he  produced  some  one  or  more  of  the  following 
documents  as  evidence,  viz.,  certificates  of  stock ; 


254      THE   LIFE»  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC    SERVICES 

receipts  of  money  or  dividends  ;  checks  bearing 
either  the  full  names  or  the  initials  of  the  persons  to 
whom  they  purported  to  have  been  paid ;  or  entries 
in  his  diary,  of  accounts  marked  '  adjusted  and 
closed/  But  no  one  of  the  classes  of  memoranda 
here  described  was  produced  in  reference  to  me ;  nor 
was  it  pretended  that  any  one  such,  referring  to  me, 
ever  existed. 

In  this  review,  I.  neither  assert  ner  intimate  that 
sales  of  stock  are  proved  in  the  other  cases  referred 
to.  In  several  cases  such  proof  was  not  made.  But  I 
do  assert  that  none  of  the  evidences  mentioned  above 
exist  in  reference  to  me. 

Having  thus  stated  the  difference  between  the  tes 
timony  relating  to  other  persons,  and  that  relating  to 
me,  I  now  notice  the  testimony  on  which  it  is  at 
tempted  to  reach  the  conclusion  that  I  did  agree 
to  take  the  stock,  and  did  receive  $329  on  account 
of  it. 

On  the  22d  of  January,  Mr.  Ames  presented  to 
the  committee  a  statement  of  an  alleged  account 
with  me,  which  I  quote, — 

J  A.  G.,  Dr. 

'1868.        To  10  shares  stock  Credit  Mobilier  of  A.     $1,000  oo 

Interest  .         .         .         .         «        »         •  47  oo 

June  19.  To  cash      .         .        »        .        .        .         .     32900 

$1,376  oo 


Cr. 
1868.        By  dividend  bonds,  Union  Pacific  railroad, 

$1,000,  at  80  per  cent,  less  2  per  cent.      $776  oo 
June  17.  By  dividend  collected  for  your  account       .       600  oo 

$1,376  oo 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      28$ 

This  account,  and  other  similar  ones  presented  at 
the  same  time,  concerning  other  members,  he  claimed 
to  have  copied  from  his  memorandum-book.  But 
when  the  memorandum-book  was  subsequently  pre 
sented,  it  was  found  that  the  account  here  quoted 
was  not  copied  from  it,  but  was  made  up  partly  from 
memory,  and  partly  from  such  memoranda  as  Mr. 
Ames  had  discovered  after  his  first  examination. 

By  comparing  this  account  with  the  entry  made  in 
his  diary,  and  already  quoted,  it  will  be  seen  that 
they  are  not  duplicates,  either  in  substance  or  form ; 
and  that  in  this  account  a  new  element  is  added, 
namely,  an  alleged  payment  of  $329  in  cash,  on  June 
19.  This  is  the  very  element  in  dispute. 

His  only  evidence,  that  this  sum  was  paid  me,  is 
found  in  the  production  of  a  check  drawn  by  Mr. 
Ames  on  the  sergeant-at-arms.  The  following  is 
the  language  of  the  check  : 

June  22,  1868. 

Pay  O.  A.,  or  bearer,  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  dollars,  and  charge  to  my  account. 

OAKES  AMES. 

This  check  bears  no  indorsement  or  other  mark, 
than  the  words  and  figures  given  above.  It  was 
drawn  on  the  22d  day  of  June,  and,  as  shown  by  the 
books  of  the  sergeant-at-arms,  was  paid  the  same  day 
by  the  paying  teller.  But  if  this  check  was  paid  to 
rne  on  the  account  just  quoted,  it  must  have  been 
delivered  to  me  three  days  before  it  was  drawn  ;  for 
the  account  says  I  received  the  payment  on  the  I9th 
of  June, 


286      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

There  is  nothing  but  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Ames 
that  in  any  way  connects  this  check  with  me  ;  and, 
as  the  committee  find  that  the  check  was  paid  to 
me,  I  call  special  attention  to  all  the  testimony  that 
bears  upon  the  questior 

When  Mr.  Ames  testified  that  he  paid  me  $329  as 
a  dividend  on  account  of  the  stock,  the  following 
question  was  asked  him  : 

Q.  How  was  that  paid  ?  —  A.  Paid  in  money,  I 
believe. 

At  a  later  period  in  the  examination  : 

Q.  You  say  that  $329  was  paid  to  him.  How  was 
that  paid? — A.  I  presume  by  a  check  on  the  ser- 
geant-at-arms.  I  find  there  are  checks  filed,  without 
indicating  who  they  were  for. 

One  week  later,  the  check,  referred  to  above,  was 
produced,  and  the  following  examination  was  had  : 

Q.  This  check  seems  to  have  been  paid  to  some 
body,  and  taken  up  by  the  sergeant-at-arms.  Those 
initials  are  your  own  ?  • —  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  had  the  benefit  of  this 
check?  —  A.  I  cannot  tell  you. 

Q.  Do  you  think  you  received  the  money  on  it 
yourself?  —  A.  I  have  no  idea.  I  may  have  drawn 
the  money  and  handed  it  to  another  person.  It  was 
paid  in  that  transaction.  It  may  have  been  paid  to 
Mr.  Garfield.  There  were  several  sums  of  that 
amount. 

Q.  Have  you  any  memory  in  reference  to  this 
check  ?  — A.  I  have  no  memory  as  to  that  particular 
check. 

Still  later  in  the  examination  occurs  the  following : 
Q.  In  regard  to  Mr.  Garfield,  do  you  know  wheth- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       287 

er  you  gave  him  a  check,  or  paid  him  the  money  ?  — 
A.  I  think  I  did  not  pay  him  the  money.  He  got  it 
from  the  sergeant-at-arms. 

Still  later,  in  the  same  examination,  occurs  the 
following : 

Q.  You  think  the  check,  on  which  you  wrote 
nothing  to  indicate  the  payee,  must  have  been  Mr. 
Garfield's  ? — A.  Yes,  sir.  That  is  my  judgment. 

On  the  nth  of  February,  twelve  days  later  still, 
the  subject  came  up  again,  and  Mr.  Arnes  said: 

A.  I  am  not  sure  how  I  paid  Mr.  Garfield. 

Still  later,  in  a  cross-examination  in  reference  to 
Mr.  Colfax,  the  following  occurs  : 

Q.  In  testifying  in  Mr.  Garfield's  case,  you  say 
you  may  have  drawn  the  money  on  the  check,  and 
paid  him.  Is  not  your  answer  equally  applicable  to 
the  case  of  Mr.  Colfax  ?  —  A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Why  not  ?  —  A.  I  put  Mr.  Colfax's  initials  on 
the  check,  while  I  put  no  initials  on  Mr.  Garfield's; 
and  I  may  have  drawn  the  money  myself. 

Q.  Did  not  Mr.  Garfield's  check  belong  to  him  ? 
—  A.  Mr.  Garfield  had  not  paid  for  his  stock.  He 
was  entitled  to  $329  balance.  But  Mr.  Colfax  paid 
for  his,  and  I  had  no  business  with  his  $1,200, 

Q.  Is  your  recollection  in  regard  to  this  payment 
to  Mr.  Colfax  any  more  clear  than  your  recollection 
as  to  the  payment  to  Mr.  Garfield?  —  A.  Yes,  sir;  I 
think  it  is. 

And,  finally,  in  the  examination  of  Mr.  Dillon, 
cashier  of  the  sergeant-at-arms,  the  following  is  re 
corded  : 

0.  There  is  a  check  payable  to  Oakes  Ames,  or 
bearer.  Have  you  any  recollection  of  that?  —  A. 


288      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

That  was  paid  to  himself.  I  have  no  doubt,  myself, 
that  I  paid  that  to  Mr.  Ames. 

Reviewing  the  testimony  on  this  point  (and  I  have 
quoted  it  all),  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Ames,  several 
times,  asserts  that  he  does  not  know  whether  he  paid 
me  the  check  or  not.  He  states  positively  that  he 
has  no  special  recollection  of  the  check.  His  testi 
mony  is  wholly  inferential.  In  one  of  the  seven 
paragraphs  quoted,  he  says  he  paid  me  the  money  ; 
in  another,  he  says  he  may  have  paid  me  the  money  ; 
in  three  of  them,  he  thinks,  or  presumes,  that  he  paid 
me  the  check;  and  in  the  other  two,  he  says  he  does 
not  know. 

The  cashier  of  the^sergeant-at-arms  has  no  doubt 
that  Mr.  Ames  himself  drew  the  money  on  the  check. 
And  yet,  upon  this  vague  and  wholly  inconclusive 
testimony,  and  almost  alone  upon  it,  is  based  the 
assumption  that  I  received  from  Mr.  Ames  $329,  as 
a  dividend  on  the  stock.  I  affirm,  with  perfect  dis 
tinctness  of  recollection,  that  I  received  no  check 
from  Mr.  Ames.  The  only  money  I  ever  received 
from  him  was  in  currency. 

The  only  other  evidence,  in  support  of  the  assump 
tion  that  he  paid  me  $329,  as  a  balance  on  the  stock,  is 
found  in  the  entries  in  his  diary  for  1868.  The  value 
.of  this  class  of  memoranda  depends  altogether  upon 
their  character,  and  upon  the  business  habits  of  the 
man  who  makes  them.  On  this  latter  point,  the  fol- 
lowin  g  testimony  of  Mr.  Ames  is  important : 

Q.  Is  it  your  habit,  as  a  matter  of  business,  in  con 
ducting  various  transactions  with  different  persons, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      289 

to  do  it  without  making  any  memoranda?  —  A.  This 
was  my  habit.  Until  within  a  year  or  two,  I  have  had 
no  book-keeper;  and  I  used  to  keep  all  my  own  mat 
ters  in  my  own  way,  and  very  carelessly,  I  admit. 

The  memorandum- book,  in  which  these  entries  were 
made,  was  not  presented  to  the  committee  until  the 
nth  of  February,  one  week  before  they  made  their 
report.  This  book  does  not  contain  continuous 
entries  of  current  transactions,  with  consecutive  dates. 
It  is  in  no  sense  a  day-book ;  but  contains  a  loose, 
irregular  mass  of  memoranda,  which  may  have  been 
made  at  the  time  of  the  transactions,  or  long  after 
ward.  Mr.  Ames  says  of  it  in  his  testimony : 

Q.  What  was  the  character  of  the  book  in  which 
the  memoranda  were  made?  —  A.  It  was  in  a  small 
pocket  memorandum,  and  some  of  it  on  slips  of 
paper. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  this  book  contains  a  com 
plete  record  of  payments  and  receipts.  And  yet, 
besides  the  check,  already  referred  to,  this  book,  so 
made  up,  contains  the  only  evidence,  or  pretended 
evidence,  on  which  it  is  claimed  that  I  agreed  to  take 
the  stock.  It  should  be  remembered  that  every  por 
tion  of  this  evidence,  both  check  and  book,  is  of  Mr. 
Ames*  own  making.  I  have  already  referred  to  the 
undated  memorandum  of  an  account  in  this  book, 
under  my  name,  and  have  shown  that  it  neither 
proved  a  sale  of  stock,  or  any  payment  on  account  of 
it. 

There  are  but  two  other  entries  in  the  book  relating 
to  me,  and  they  are  two  lists  of  names,  substantially 
19 


THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

duplicates  of  each  other,  with  various  amounts  set 
opposite  each.  They  are  found  on  pages  450  and 
453  of  the  testimony.  The  word  '  paid '  is  marked 
before  the  first  name  on  one  of  these  lists,  and  ditto 
marks  placed  under  the  word  'paid,'  and  opposite 
the  remaining  names.  But  the  value  of  this  entry,  as 
proof  of  payment,  will  be  seen  from  the  cross-exami 
nation  of  Mr.  Ames,  which  immediately  follows  the 
list: 

Q.  This  entry,  'Paid  S.  Colfax  £1,200,'  is  the 
amount  which  you  paid  by  this  check  on  the  sergeant- 
at-arms  ?  —  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Was  this  entry  upon  this  page  of  these  various 
names  intended  to  show  the  amount  you  were  to  pay, 
or  that  you  had  paid  ;  was  that  made  at  this  date?  — 
A.  I  do  not  know ;  it  was  made  about  that  time.  I 
would  not  have  written  it  on  Sunday ;  it  is  not  very 
likely.  It  was  made  on  a  blank  page.  It  is  simply 
a  list  of  names. 

Q.  Were  these  names  put  down  after  you  had  made 
the  payments,  or  before,  do  you  think?  —  A.  Before, 
I  think. 

Q.  You  think  you  made  this  list  before  the  parties 
referred  to  had  actually  received  their  checks,  or  re 
ceived  the  money?  —  A.  Yes,  sir;  that  was  to  show 
whom  I  had  to  pay,  and  who  were  entitled  to  receive 
the  60  per  cent,  dividend.  It  shows  whom  I  had  to 
pay  here  in  Washington. 

Q.  It  says  'paid?'  —  A.  Yes,  sir;  well,  I  did  pay 
it. 

Q.  What  I  want  to  know  is,  whether  the  list  was 
made  out  before,  or  after  payment?  —  A.  About  the 
same  time,  I  suppose ;  probably,  before. 

The  other  list,  bearing  the  same  names  and  amounts, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      2QI 

shows  no  other  evidence  that  the  several  sums  were 
paid,  than  a  cross  marked  opposite  each  amount.  But 
concerning  this,  Mr.  Ames  testifies  that  it  was  a  list 
of  what  was  to  be  paid,  and  that  the  cross  was  sub 
sequently  added  to  show  that  the  amount  had  been 
paid. 

Neither  of  these  lists  shows  anything  as  to  the 
time  or  mode  of  payment,  and  would  nowhere  be  ac 
cepted  as  proof  of  payment.  By  Mr.  Ames'  own 
showing,  they  are  lists  of  persons  to  whom  he  expected 
to  pay  the  .amounts  set  opposite  their  names.  They 
may  exhibit  his  expectations,  but  they  do  not  prove 
the  alleged  payments.  If  the  exact  sum  of  $329  was 
received  by  me  at  the  time,  and  under  the  circum 
stances  alleged  by  Mr.  Ames,  it  implies  an  agreement 
to  take  the  stock.  It  implies,  furthermore,  that  Mr. 
Ames  had  sold  Pacific  railroad  bonds  for  me ;  that 
he  had  received,  also,  a  cash  dividend  for  me,  and  had 
accounted  to  me  as  trustee  for  these  receipts,  and 
the  balance  of  the  proceeds. 

Now,  I  affirm,  with  the  firmest  conviction  of  the 
correctness  of  my  statement,  that  I  never  heard  until 
this  investigation  began,  that  Mr.  Ames  ever  sold 
any  bonds,  or  performed  any  other  stock  transactions 
on  my  behalf,  and  no  act  of  mine  was  ever  based  on 
such  a  supposition. 

The  only  remaining  testimony  bearing  upon  me, 
is  that  in  which  Mr.  Ames  refers  to  conversations 
between  himself  and  me,  after  the  investigation 
began.  The  first  of  these  was  of  his  own  seeking, 
and  occurred  before  he  or  I  had  testified.  Soon 


2Q2      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

after  the  investigation  began,  Mr.  Ames  asked  me 
what  I  remembered  of  our  talk  in  1867-68,  in  refer 
ence  to  the  Credit  Mobilier  company.  I  told  him  I 
could  best  answer  his  question  by  reading  to  him  the 
statement  I  had  already  prepared  to  lay  -before  the 
committee,  when  I  should  be  called.  Accordingly, 
on  the  following  day,  I  took  my  written  statement  to 
the  Capitol,  and  read  it  to  him  carefully,  sentence  by 
sentence,  and  asked  him  to  point  out  anything  which 
he  might  think  incorrect.  He  made  but  two  criticisms ; 
one,  in  regard  to  a  date,  and  the  other,  that  he  thought 
it  was  the  Credit  Foncier  and  not  the  Credit  Mobilier 
that  Mr.  Train  asked  me  to  subscribe  to  in  i866-'6/. 
When  I  read  the  paragraph  in  which  I  stated  that  I 
had  once  borrowed  $300  of  him,  he  remarked,  '  I 
believe  I  did  let  you  have  some  money,  but  I  had 
forgotten  it.'  He  said  nothing  to  indicate  that  he 
regarded  me  as  having  purchased  the  stock ;  and 
from  that  conversation,  I  did  not  doubt  that  he  re 
garded  my  statement  substantially  correct.  His  first 
testimony,  given  a  few  days  afterward,  confirmed  me 
in  this  opinion. 

I  had  another  interview  with  Mr.  Ames,  of  my  own 
seeking,  to  which  he  alludes  elsewhere ;  and  for  a 
full  understanding  of  it,  a  statement  of  some  previous 
facts  is  necessary.  I  gave  my  testimony  before  the 
committee,  and  in  Mr.  Ames'  hearing,  on  the  morn 
ing  of  January  14.  It  consisted  of  the  statement  I 
had  already  read  to  Mr.  Ames,  and  of  the  cross-exam 
ination  which  followed  my  reading  of  the  statement, 
all  of  which  has  been  quoted  above. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      293 

During  that  afternoon,  while  I  was  in  the  manage 
ment  of  an  appropriation  bill  in  the  House,  word  was 
brought  to  me  that  Mr.  Ames,  on  coming  out  of  the 
committee-room,  had  declared,  in  the  hearing  of 
several  reporters,  that  '  Garfield  was  in  league  with 
Judge  Black  to  break  him  down  ;  -that  it  was  $400, 
not  $300,  that  he  had  let  Garfield  have,  who  had  not 
only  never  repaid  it,  but  had  refused  to  repay  it".' 
Though  this  report  of  Mr.  Ames'  alleged  declaration 
was  subsequently  found  to  be  false,  and  was  doubtless 
fabricated  for  the  purpose  of  creating  difficulty,  yet 
there  were  circumstances  which,  at  the  time,  led  me 
to  suppose  that  the  report  was  correct.  One  was, 
that  Judge  Black  (who  was  McComb's  counsel  in  the 
suit  against  Ames)  was  present  at  my  examination, 
and  had  drawn  out  on  cross-examination  my  opinion 
of  the  nature  of  Mr.  Ames'  relation  to  the  Credit 
Mobilier  company  and  the  Union  Pacific  company ; 
and  the  other  was,  that  in  Mr.  Ames'  testimony  of 
December  17,  he  had  said,  'He  (Mr.  Garfield)  had 
some  money  from  me  once,  some  three  or  four  hun 
dred  dollars,  and  called  it  a  loan.'  The  sum  of  four 
hundred  dollars  had  thus  been  mentioned  in  his 
testimony,  and  it  gave  plausibility  to  the  story  that 
he  was  now  claiming  that,  as  the  amount  he  had 
loaned  me. 

Supposing  that  Mr.  Ames  had  said  what  was  re 
ported,  I  was  deeply  indignant ;  and,  with  a  view  of 
drawing  from  him  a  denial  or  retraction  of  the  state 
ment,  or,  if  he  persisted  in  it,  to  pay  him  twice  over, 
so  that  he  could  no  longer  say  or  pretend  that  there 


294      THE   LIFE>  SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

existed  between  us  any  unsettled  transaction,  I  drew 
some  money  from  the  office  of  the  sergeant-at-arms, 
and,  going  to  my  committee-room,  addressed  him 
the  following  note  : 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

January  14,  1873. 

Sir : — I  have  just  been  informed,  to  my  utter  amaze 
ment,  that,  after  coming  out  of  the  committee-room 
this  morning,  you  said  in  the  presence  of  several  re 
porters  that  you  had  loaned  me  four,  instead  of  three, 
hundred  dollars,  and  that  I  had  not  only  refused  to 
pay  you,  but  was  aiding  your  accusers  to  injure  you 
in  the  investigation.  I  shall  call  the  attention  of  the 
committee  to  it,  unless  I  find  I  am  misinformed,  To 
bring  the  loan  question  to  an  immediate  issue  between 
us,  I  inclose  herewith  $400.  If  you  wish  to  do  justice 
to  the  truth  and  to  me,  you  will  return  it,  and  correct 
the  alleged  statement,  if  you  made  it.  If  not,  you 
will  keep  the  money,  and  thus  be  paid  twice  and  more. 
Silence  on  your  part  will  be  a  confession  that  you 
have  deeply  wronged  me. 

J.  A.  GARFIELD. 
Hon.  OAKES  AMES. 

After  the  House  had  adjourned  for  the  day,  I 
found,  on  returning  to  my  committee-room,  that  I  had 
omitted  to  inclose  the  note  with  the  money,  which 
had  been  sent  to  the  House  post-office.  I  immediate 
ly  sought  Mr.  Ames  to  deliver  the  note,  but  failed  to 
find  him  at  his  hotel,  or  elsewhere,  that  evening. 
Early  the  next  morning,  January  15,  I  found  him, 
and  delivered  the  note.  He  denied  having  said,  or 
claimed,  any  of  the  things  therein  set  forth,  and  wrote 
on  the  back  of  my  letter  the  following : 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       2Q5 

WASHINGTON,  January  15,  1873. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  return  you  your  letter  with  inclosures, 
and  I  utterly  deny  ever  having  said  that  you  refused 
to  pay  me,  or  that  it  was  four,  instead  of  three  hun 
dred  dollars,  or  that  you  was  aiding  my  accusers.  I 
also  wish  to  say  that  there  has  never  been  any  but 
the  most  friendly  feelings  between  us,  and  no  trans 
action,  in  the  least  degree,  that  can  be  censured  by 
any  fair-minded  person.  I  herewith  return  you  the 
four  hundred  dollars  as  not  belonging  to  me. 

Yours,  truly, 

OAKES  AMES. 
Hon.  J.  A.  GARFIELD. 

From  inquiry  of  the  reporters,  to  whom  the  remarks 
were  alleged  to  have  been  made,  I  had  become  satis 
fied  that  the  story  was  wholly  false ;  and  when  Mr. 
Ames  added  his  denial,  I  expressed  to  him  my  re 
gret  that  I  had  written  this  note  in  anger  and  upon 
false  information.  I  furthermore  said  to  Mr.  Ames 
that,  if  he  had  any  doubt  in  reference  to  the  repay 
ment  of  the  loan,  I  wished  him  to  keep  the  money. 
He  refused  to  keep  any  part  of  it,  and  his  conversa 
tion  indicated  that  he  regarded  all  transactions  be 
tween  us  settled. 

Before  I  left  his  room,  however,  he  said  he  had 
some  memoranda  which  seemed  to  indicate  that  the 
money  I  had  of  him  was  on  account  of  stock  ;  and 
asked  me,  if  he  did  not,  some  time  in  1868,  deliver 
to  me  a  statement  to  that  effect.  I  told  him  if  he  had 
any  account  of  that  sort,  I  was  neither  aware  of  it, 
nor  responsible  for  it ;  and  thereupon  I  made  sub 
stantially  the  following  statement : 


296      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

Mr.  Ames,  the  only  memoranda  you  ever  showed 
me  was  in  i867~'68,  when  speaking  to  me  of  this 
proposed  sale  of  stock,  you  figured  out,  on  a  little 
piece  of  paper,  what  you  supposed  would  be  realized 
from  an  investment  of  $1,000;  and-,  as  I  remember, 
you  wrote  down  these  figures  : 

1,000 
1,000 

400 
2,400 
as  to  the  amounts,  you  expected  to  realize. 

While  saying  this  to  Mr.  Ames,  I  wrote  the  figures, 
as  above,  on  a  piece  of  paper  lying  on  his  table,  to 
show  him  what  the  only  statement  was,  he  had  ever 
made  to  me.  It  is  totally  false  that  these  figures  had 
any  other  meaning  than  that  I  have  here  given  ;  nor 
did  I  say  anything,  out  of  which  could  be  fabricated 
such  a  statement. 

In  his  testimony  of  January  29,  Mr.  Ames  gives  a 
most  remarkable  account  of  this  interview.  Remem 
bering  the  fact,  by  him  undisputed,  that  there  had 
been  no  communication  between  us  on  this  subject, 
for  more  than  four  years  before  this  investigation 
began,  notice  the  following : 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  conversation,  in  reference  to 
the  influence  this  transaction  would  have  on  the  elec 
tion  last  fall?  —  A.  Yes,  he  said  it  would  be  very  in 
jurious  to  him. 

Q.  What  else,  in  reference  to  that  ?  —  A.  I  am  a 
very  bad  man  to  repeat  conversation ;  I  cannot  re 
member. 

That  is,  he  makes  me,  on  the  i$th  of  January,  1873, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       297 

express  the  fear  that  this  transaction  will  injure  me 
in  the  election  of  October,  1872. 
Again : 

Q.  You  may  state  whether,  in  conversation  with 
you,  Mr.  Garfield  claims,  as  he  claims  before  us,  that 
the  only  transaction  between  you  was  borrowing 
$300.  — A.  No,  sir;  he  did  not  claim  that  with  me. 

Q.  State  how  he  did  claim  it  with  you ;  what  was 
said?  —  A.  I  cannot  remember  half  of  it.  *  * 
He  [Garfield]  stated,  that  when  he  came  back  from 
Europe,  being  in  want  of  funds,  he  called  oix  me,  to 
loan  him  a  sum  of  money.  He  thought  he  had  re 
paid  it.  I  do  not  know  ;  I  do  not  remember.  *  * 

Q.  How  long  after  that  transaction  [the  offer  to 
sell  Credit  Mobilier  stock]  did  he  go  to  Europe  ?  — 
A.  I  believe  it  was  a  year  or  two.  *  * 

Q.  Do  you  not  know  that  he  did  not  go  to  Europe 
for  nearly  two  years  afterward?  —  A.  No,  I  do  not. 
It  is  my  impression,  it  was  two  years  afterward,  but 
I  cannot  remember  dates. 

I  should  think  not,  if  this  testimony  is  an  example 
of  his  memory ! 

It  is  known  to  thousands  of  people,  that  I  went  to 
Europe  in  the  summer  of  1867,  and  at  no  other  time. 
I  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  I3th  of  July,  1867, 
spent  several  days  of  August,  in  Scotland,  with 
Speaker  Blaine  and  Senator  Morrill  of  Vermont, 
and  returned  to  New  York  on  the  Qth  of  the  follow 
ing  November  —  three  weeks  before  the  beginning 
of  the  session  of  Congress. 

The  books  of  the  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  House 
show  that,  before  going,  •  I  had  assigned  several 
months'  pay,  in  advance,  to  a  banker,  who  had  ad- 


298      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

vanced  me  money,  for  the  expenses  of  the  trip.  To 
break  the  weight  of  this  fact,  which  showed  why  I 
came  to  need  a  small  loan,  Mr.  Ames  says  I  did  not 
go  to  Europe  till  nearly  two  years  afterward. 

If  a  reason  be  sought  why  he  gave  such  testimony, 
it  may  perhaps  be  found  on  the  same  page  from 
which  the  last  quotation  is  made : 

Q.  How  did  you  happen  to  retain  that  little  stray 
memorandum?  —  A.  I  do  not  know.  I  found  it  in 
my  table  two  or  three  days  afterward.  I  did  not  pay 
any  attention  to  it  at  the  time,  until  I  found  there 
^was  to  be  a  conflict  of  testimony,  and  I  thought  that 
might  be  something  worth  preserving. 

How  did  he  find  out,  after  that  time,  that  '  there 
was  to  be  a  conflict  of  testimony?'  The  figures 
were  made  on  that  piece  of  paper,  January  15,  the 
day  after  I  had  given  my  testimony,  and  four  weeks 
after  he  had  given  his  first  testimony.  There  was  no 
conflict,  except  what  he  himself  made  ;  and  that  con 
flict  was  as  marked  between  his  first  statement  and 
his  subsequent  ones,  as  between  the  latter  and  mine. 

There  runs  through  all  his  testimony,  now  under 
consideration,  an  intimation  that  I  was  in  a  state  of 
alarm,  was  beseeching  Mr.  Ames  to  'let  me  off 
easy,'  '  to  say  as  little  about  it  as  possible,'  '  to  let 
it  go  as  a  loan,'  'to  save  my  reputation,'  that  I  'felt 
very  bad,'  was  'in  great  distress,'  'hardly  knew 
what  I  said,'  and  other  such  expressions. 

I  should  have  been  wholly  devoid  of  sensibility,  if 
I  had  not  felt  keenly  the  suspicions,  the  false  accu 
sations,  the  reckless  calumnies  with  which  the  public 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       2QQ 

mind  was  filled,  while  the  investigation  was  in  prog 
ress.  But  there  is  not  the  smallest  fragment  of 
truth  in  the  statement,  or  rather  the  insinuation,  that 
I  ever  asked,  or  wanted,  anything  from  Mr.  Ames, 
on  this  subject,  but  simple  justice  and  the  truth. 

The  spirit  in  which  a  portion  of  the  public  treated 
the  men  whose  conduct  was  being  investigated,  may 
be  understood  from  the  following  questions,  put  to 
Mr.  Ames,  in  the  midst  of  an  examination,  not  at  all 
relating  to  me : 

Q.  In  that  conversation,  with  Mr.  Garfield,  was 
anything  said,  by  him,  about  your  being  an  old  man, 
near  the  end  of  your  career,  and  his  being  compara 
tively  a  young  man?  —  A.  No,  sir;  nothing  of  that 
sort. 

It  is  manifest  that  this  question  was  suggested  by 
some  of  the  inventive  bystanders,  in  hopes  of  making 
an  item  for  a  new  sensation. 

The  most  absurd  and  exaggerated  statements  were 
constantly  finding  their  way  into  the  public  press,  in 
reference  to  every  subject  and  person  connected  with 
the  investigation,  and  this  question  is  an  illustration. 

In  no  communication  with  Mr.  Ames,  did  I  ever 
say  anything  inconsistent  with  my  testimony  before 
the  committee. 

Conscious  that  I  had  done  no  wrong,  from  the  be 
ginning  to  the  end  of  this  affair,  I  had  nothing  to 
conceal,  and  no  favors  to  ask,  except  that  the  whole 
truth  should  be  known.  I  was  in  the  committee- 
room  but  once,  during  the  investigation,  and  I  went 
then,  only  when  summoned  to  give  my  testimony. 


3OO      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

From  a  review  of  the  whole  subject,  the  following 
conclusions  are  fairly  and  clearly  established : 

I.  That  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  was  a  State 
corporation,  regularly  organized ;    and  that  neither 
its  charter,  nor  the  terms  of  its  contract,  of  October 
15,  1867,  disclosed  anything  which  indicated  that  the 
company  was  engaged  in  any  fraudulent  or  improper 
enterprise. 

II.  That  seven  persons,  inside  the  Credit  Mobilier 
company,  calling  themselves  trustees,  obtained  the 
control  of  the  franchises,  and  of  a  majority  of  the 
stock,  of  both  the  Credit  Mobilier  and  of  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad  company ;  and,  while  holding  such 
double   control,  they  made  a   contract  with   them 
selves,  by  which  they  received,  for  building  the  road, 
a  sum  greatly  beyond  the  real  cost  of  construction: 
and,  in  adjusting  the  payments,  they  received  stock 
and  bonds  of  the  railroad  company,  at  a  heavy  dis 
count. 

****** 

That  these  profits  were  distributed,  not  to  the 
stockholders' of  the  Credit  Mobilier  proper,  but  to 
the  seven  trustees,  and  their  proxies  —  the  holders 
of  this  stock  —  and  that  this  arrangement  was  kept 
secret  by  its  managers. 

III.  That,  in   1867-' 8,  Mr.  Ames  offered  to  sell 
small  amounts  of  this  stock  to  several  leading  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  representing  it  as  an  ordinary  in 
vestment,  promising  fair  profits ;   but,  but  in  every 
such  offer,  he  said  nothing  about  any  arrangement, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A  GARFIELD.       30 1 

by  which  the  profits  were  to  be  made,  or  what  would 
be  the  amount  of  dividends  likely  to  be  realized. 
While  thus  offering  this  stock,  he  was  writing  to 
one  of  his  associates,  that  he  was  disposing  of  the 
stock  'where  it  would  do  most  good,'  which  seemed 
to  intimate  that  he  was  thereby  gaining  influence 
in  Congress,  to  prevent  investigation  into  the  af 
fairs  of  the  road.  His  letters,  and  the  list  of  names, 
which  he  gave  to  McComb,  represent  many  persons 
who  never  did  buy  or  agree  to  buy  it,  and  also  repre 
sent  a  much  larger  amount  than  he  sold.  Mr. 
Ames'  letters  and  testimony  contain  contradictions, 
not  only  of  his  own  statements,  but  also  of  the 
statements  of  most  of  the  other  witnesses;  and 
it  is  fair,  in  judging  of  its  credibility,  to  take  into 
some  account  his  interests  involved  in  the  contro 
versy. 

IV.  That  in  reference  to  myself,  the  following 
points  are  clearly  established  by  the  evidence : 

i.  That  I  neither  purchased,  nor  agreed  to  pur 
chase,  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock,  which  Mr.  Ames 
offered  to  sell  me ;  nor  did  I  receive  any  dividend 
arising  from  it.  This  appears  from  my  own  testi 
mony  ;  and,  from  the  first  testimony  given  by  Mr. 
Ames,  which  is  not  overthrown  by  his  subsequent 
statements ;  and  is  strongly  confirmed  by  the  fact 
that,  in  the  case  of  each  of  those  who  did  purchase 
the  stock,  there  was  produced,  as  evidence  of  the  sale, 
either  a  certificate  of  stock,  receipt  of  payment,  a 
check  drawn  in  the  name  of  the  payee,  or  entries  in 
Mr.  Ames'  diary,  of  a  stock  account  marked,  adjusted, 


3O2      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

and  closed ;  but,  that  no  one  of  these  evidences  ex 
ists,  in  reference  to  me.  This  position  is  further 
confirmed  by  the  subsequent  testimony  of  Mr.  Ames, 
who,  though  he  claims  that  I  did  receive  $329  from 
him  on  account  of  the  stock,  yet  he  repeatedly  testi 
fies  that,  beyond  that  amount,  I  never  received  or 
demanded  any  dividend,  that  he  did  not  offer  me 
any,  nor  was  the  subject  alluded  to,  in  conversation 
between  us. 

Mr.  Ames  admits,  that  after  December,  1867,  the 
various  stock  and  bond  dividends,  on  the  stock  he 
had  sold,  amounted  to  an  aggregate  of  more  than 
800  per  cent.;  and,  that  between  January,  1868,  and 
May,  1871,  all  these  dividends  were  paid  to  several 
of  those  who  purchased  the  stock.  My  conduct  was 
wholly  inconsistent  with  the  supposition  of  such 
ownership;  for,  during  the  year  1869,  I  was  borrow 
ing  money,  to  build  a  house  here,  in  Washington, 
and  was  securing  my  creditors  by  giving  mortgages 
on  my  property ;  and,  all  this  time,,  it  is  admitted 
that  I  received  no  dividends,  and  claimed  none. 

The  attempt  to  prove  a  sale  of  the  stock  to  me,  is 
wholly  inconclusive ;  for  it  rests,  first,  on  a  check 
payable  to  Mr.  Ames  himself,  concerning  which,  he 
several  times  says  he  does  not  know  to  whom  it  was 
paid  ;  and  second,  upon  loose,  undated  entries  in 
his  diary,  which  neither  prove  a  sale  of  the  stock  nor 
any  payment  on  account  of  it. 

The  only  fact  from  which  it  is  possible  for  Mr. 
Ames  to  have  inferred  an  agreement  to  buy  the 
stock,  was  the  loan  to  me,  of  $300.  But  that  loan 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       303 

was  made  months  before  the  check  of  June  22,  1868, 
and  was  repaid  in  the  winter  of  1869;  and,  after  that 
date,  there  were  no  transactions  of  any  sort  between 
us. 

And  finally,  before  the  investigation  was  ended, 
Mr.  Ames  admitted  that,  on  the  chief  point  of  differ 
ence  between  us,  he  might  be  mistaken. 

He  said  he  '  considered  me  the  purchaser  of  the 
stock,  unless  it  was  borrowed  money  I  had  of  him ; ' 
and,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  last  testimony,  he  said : 

Mr.  Garfield  understands  this  matter  as  a  loan  ;  he 
says  I  did  not  explain  it  to  him. 

Q.  You  need  not  say  what  Mr.  Garfield  says.  Tell 
us  what  you  think. 

A.  Mr.  Garfield  might  have  misunderstood  me.     * 

*  I  supposed  it  was  like  all  the  rest,  but  when 
Mr.  Garfield  says  he  mistook  it  for  a  loan ;  that  he 
always  understood  it  to  be  a  loan  ;  that  I  did  not 
make  any  explanation  to  him,  and  did  not  make  any 
statement  to  him ;  I  may  be  mistaken.  I  am  a  man 
of  few  words,  ahd  I  may  not  have  made  myself  un 
derstood  to  him. 

2.  That  the  offer  which  Mr.  Ames  made  to  me,  as 
I  understood  it,  was  one  which  involved  no  wrong 
or  impropriety.  I  had  no  reason  to  believe  that 
behind  this  offer  to  sell  a  small  amount  of  stock 
lay  any  scheme  to  defraud  the  Pacific  railroad,  or 
imperil  the  interests  of  the  United  States.  1  was  not 
invited  to  become  a  party  to  any  scheme  of  spoliation, 
much  less  was  I  aware  of  any  attempt  to  influence 
my  legislative  action,  or  any  subject  connected  there- 


304     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

with.  And,  on  the  first  intimation  that  such  might 
be  the  nature  of  the  case,  I  declined  any  further  con 
sideration  of  the  subject. 

3.  That  whatever  may  have  been  the  facts  in  the 
case,  I  stated  them  in  my  testimony,  as  I  have  always 
understood  them ;  and  there  has  been  no  contradic 
tion,  prevarication,  or  evasion,  on  my  part. 

This  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  I  stated  the 
case  to  Mr.  Robison,  in  the  spring  of  1868,  and  to 
Mr.  Hinsdale,  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  and  to 
Judge  Black,  in  the  winter  of  1869-' 70,  substantially 
as  it  is  stated  in  my  testimony  before  the  committee. 

I  have  shown  that,  during  the  presidential  cam 
paign,  I  did  not  deny  having  known  anything  about 
the  Credit  Mobilier  company;  that  the  statement 
published  in  the  Cincinnati  Gazette,  September  15, 
is  substantially  in  accord  with  my  testimony  before 
the  committee ;  and  finally,  that  during  the  progress 
of  the  investigation,  there  was  nothing  in  my  con 
versation,  or  correspondence  with  Mr.  Ames,  in  any 
way,  inconsistent  with  the  facts  as  given  in  my  testi 
mony.  To  sum  it  up,  in  a  word :  out  of  an  unim 
portant  business  transaction,  the  loan  of  a  trifling 
sum  of  money,  as  a  matter  of  personal  accommoda 
tion,  and  out  of  an  offer,  never  accepted,  has  arisen 
this  famous  fabric  of  accusation  and  suspicion. 

If  there  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  is 
willing  to  believe  that,  for  $329,  I  have  bartered 
away  my  good  name,  and  to  falsehood,  have  added 
perjury,  these  pages  are  not  addressed  to  him.  If 
there  be  one  who  thinks  that  any  part  of  my  public 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       305 

life  has  been  gauged  on  so  low  a  level  as  these  charges 
would  place  it,  I  do  not  address  him  —  I  address  those 
who  are  willing  to  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  a 
man  to  serve  the  public  without  personal  dishonor. 

If  any  scheming  corporations,  or  corrupt  rings 
have  ever  found  in  me  a  conscious  supporter,  or 
ally,  in  any  dishonorable  scheme,  they  are  at  full 
liberty  to  disclose  it.  In  the  discussion  of  the  many 
grave  and  difficult  questions  of  public  policy,  which 
have  occupied  the  thoughts  of  the  nation,  during  the 
last  twelve  years,  I  have  borne  some  part;  and  I 
confidently  appeal  to  the  public  records  for  a  vindi 
cation  of  my  conduct." 

Since  the  excitement  concerning  the  Credit  Mobi- 
lier  has  passed  away,  public  opinion  in  regard  to  it, 
and  concerning  General  Garfield's  connection  with  it 
has  undergone  a  great  change;  and  while  the  be 
havior  of  Hon.  Oakes  Ames  is  regarded  in  a  much 
more  favorable  light,  no  man,  unless  he  is  the  most 
reckless  and  foolish  of  scandal-mongers,  could  now 
throw  any  blame  upon  General  Garfield,  in  connec 
tion  with  it.  His  whole  life  has  been  consistent, 
straight  forward,  and  honest,  which  even  his  bitter 
political  enemies  will  not  now  deny. 


There  was  another  political  disturbance,  in  con 
nection  with  the  vote  of  Congress,  in  1872,  to  in 
crease  the  salary  of  its  members,  and  for  which 
General  Garfield  voted,  under  protest,  as  the  measure 
was  combined  with  others  he  wished  very  much  to 
20 


306      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

see  passed.  General  Gaffield  sent  to  his  constitu 
ents  an  explanation  of  the  matter,  when  he  saw  how 
sadly  they  had  misconstrued  his  motives  and  his 
action.  It  is  a  complete  history  of  the  affair  in  itself, 
and  is  given  in  full : 

HIRAM,  OHIO,  April  2i,  1873. 

ON  the  3d  day  of  March,  the  day  that  completed 
the  tenth  year  of  my  service  as  your  Representative 
in  Congress,  I  cast  a  vote,  in  company  with  one  hun 
dred  and  one  other  Representatives,  on  account  of 
which  it  appears  that  the  following  resolution  has 
lately  been  adopted  by  a  convention  of  delegates  at 
Warren,  called  to  nominate  a  member  of  the  State 
Constitutional  Convention : 

Resolved,  That  James  A.  Garfield,  in  voting  for  the  retroactive  sal 
ary  bill,  has  forfeited  the  confidence  of  his  constituents,  and,  there 
fore,  we,  the  representatives  of  the  Republican  party  of  Trumbull 
County,  in  convention  assembled,  ask  him  to  resign  forthwith  his 
office  as  our  Representative  in  Congress. 

The  officers  of  that  convention  have  not  favored 
me  with  a  copy  of  the  resolution,  and  I  have  learned 
of  its  terms  only  through  the  press  and  private  com 
munications.  Presuming  that  the  above  is  the  cor 
rect  text  of  the  resolution,  and  waiving  all  question 
of  the  jurisdiction  and  authority  of  that  convention 
to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  subject,  I  respond  to  the 
resolution  itself.  In  doing  so  I  assume  that  those 
who  framed  it  were  animated  only  by  a  sense  of  pub 
lic  duty.  I  will  assume  also  that  they  were  willing 
and  even  anxious  to  do  me  justice,  and  to  state  fairly 
and  truthfully  my  alleged  offense.  This,  however, 
they  have  not  done. 

The  language  of  the  resolution  implies  that  I  voted 
to  give  additional  back  pay  to  members  of  Congress. 
It  assumes  that  the  retroactive  pay  was  the  chief 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       3O/ 

provision  of  the  bill  for  which  I  did  vote.  Now,  just 
such  a  bill  as  that  language  describes  was  brought 
into  the  House,  for  the  purpose  of  fastening  it  as  an 
amendment  to  one  of  the  leading  appropriation  bills. 
That  effort  I  resisted  at  every  stage.  The  bill  for 
which  I  did  vote  now  fills  twenty-seven  pages  of  the 
national  statute-book.  The  offensive  retroactive 
clause  is -contained  in  three  lines  of  the  statute. 

Whether  I  ought  or  ought  not  to  have  voted  for  the 
appropriation  bill,  with  the  retroactive  salary  clause  in 
corporated  in  it,  depends  upon  the  merits  and  demer 
its  of  the  bill  as  a  whole.  Whether  I  am  in  any  way 
responsible  for  its  offensive  provisions  depends  upon 
what  efforts  I  made,  or  failed  to  make,  to  prevent 
their  adoption. 

That  it  may  be  clearly  understood  what  I  did  on 
this  subject,  I  will  briefly  state  the  facts. 

As  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations 
it  was  my  duty  to  see  that  the  annual  appropriation 
bills  were  acted  upon  in  the  House  before  the  Forty- 
Second  Congress  expired.  To  do  this  it  was  neces 
sary  to  press  them  constantly,  and  to  the  exclusion 
of  a  great  mass  of  other  business.  For  this  purpose 
chiefly  the  House  was  in  session  from  ten  to  fifteen 
hours  in  each  twenty-four  during  the  last  week  of  the 
term. 

I  had  special  charge  of  the  legislative  appropria 
tion  bill,  upon  the  preparation  of  which  my  commit 
tee  had  spent  nearly  two  weeks  of  labor  before  the 
meeting  of  Congress.  It  was  the  most  important  of 
the  twelve  annual  bills.  Its  provisions  reached  every 
part  of  the  machinery  of  the  Government  in  all  the 
States  and  Territories  of  the  Union.  The  amount 
appropriated  by  it  was  one-seventh  of  the  total  annual 
expenditures  of  the  Government,  exclusive  of  the 
interest  on  the  public  debt.  It  contained  all  the 
appropriations  required  by  law  for  the  legislative 


3O8      THE   LIFE,   SPEECHES,  'AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

department  of  the  Government ;  for  the  public  print 
ing  and  binding ;  for  the  President  and  the  officers 
and  employes  at  the  Executive  Mansion ;  for  the 
seven  executive  departments  at  Washington,  and  all 
their  bureaus  and  sub-divisions ;  for  the  sub-treasu 
ries  and  public  depositaries  in  fourteen  cities  of  the 
Union  ;  for  all  the  officers  and  agents  employed  in 
the  assessment  and  collection  of  the  internal  revenue  ; 
for  the  governments  of  the  nine  Territories  and  of 
the  District  of  Columbia ;  for  the  mints  and  the 
assay  offices  ;  for  the  land  offices  and  the  surveys  of 
public  lands;  and  for  all  the  courts,  judges,  district 
attorneys,  and  marshals  of  the  United  States.  Be 
sides  this,  during  its  progress  through  the  two 
Houses,  many  provisions  had  been  added  to  the  bill 
which  were  considered  of  vital  importance  to  the 
public  interests.  A  section  had  been  added  in  the 
Senate  to  force  the  Pacific  railroad  companies  to  pay 
the  arrears  of  interest  on  the  bonds  loaned  to  them 
by  the  United  States,  and  to  commence  refunding 
the  principal. 

An  investigating  committee  of  the  House  had 
unearthed  enormous  frauds  committed  by  and  against 
these  companies,  and  as  the  result  of  two  months' 
labor  had  framed  a  bill  of  several  sections  to  provide 
for  bringing  suits  in  the  courts  to  recover  the  vast 
sums  of  which  the  road  and  Government  had  been 
plundered,  and  to  prevent  further  spoliation.  That 
bill  had  also  been  made  a  part  of  the  appropriation 
bill. 

While  the  bill  was  first  passing  through  the 
House,  repeated  efforts  were  made  to  increase  the 
salaries  of  different  officers  of  the  Government ;  in 
every  instance  I  resisted  these  efforts,  and  but  little 
increase  was  made  until  forty-eight  hours  before  the 
Congress  expired,  when  the  House  loaded  upon  this 
bill  an  amendment  increasing  the  salaries  of  the 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  309 

President,  Vice-President,  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  members  of  Congress,  including  those  of 
the  Forty-Second  Congress. 

An  unsuccessful  effort  had  been  made  three  weeks 
before  to  fasten  that  amendment  upon  another  ap 
propriation  bill  of  which  I  had  charge.  In  the 
struggle  to  fasten  it  upon  this  bill  there  was  a 
lengthy  debate,  in  which  its  merits  and  demerits 
were  fully  discussed.  In  that  debate  I  bore  my  full 
share  in  opposing  the  amendment.  Before  it  was 
finally  adopted  there  were  eighteen  different  votes 
taken  in  the  House  and  the  Committee  of  the  Whole 
on  its  merits  and  its  management.  On  each  and  all 
of  these  I  voted  adversely  to  the  amendment.  Six 
years  ago,  when  the  salaries  of  Congressmen  were 
raised  and  the  pay  was  made  to  date  back  sixteen 
months,  I  had  voted  against  the  increase  ;  and  now, 
bearing  more  responsibility  for  the  appropriations 
than  ever  before,  I  pursued  the  same  course.  No 
act  of  mine  during  this  struggle  can  be  tortured  into 
a  willingness  to  allow  this-amendment  to  be  fastened 
to  the  bill.  But  all  opposition  was  overborne  by 
majorities  ranging  from  three  to  fifty-three,  and  the 
bill  with  this  amendment  added  was  sent  to  the  Sen 
ate  Saturday  evening,  the  ist  of  March.  If  the  Sen 
ate  had  struck  out  the  amendment,  they  could  have 
compelled  the  House  to  abandon  it  or  take  the  re 
sponsibility  of  losing  the  bill.  But  the  Senate  re 
fused,  by  a  vote  of  nearly  two  to  one,  to  strike  out 
the  salary  clause  or  any  part  of  it ;  and  many  Sena 
tors  insisted  that  with  the  abolition  of  mileage  and 
other  allowances  $6,500  was  no  real  increase,  and 
that  the  rate  should  be  greater.  The  bill  then  went 
to  a  conference  committee  with  sixty-five  unadjusted 
amendments  pending  between  the  two  Houses. 

The  battle  against  the  salary  clause  was  fought 
and  lost  before  the  appropriation  bill  went  to  the 


3IO      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

conference  committee.  The  Speaker  of  the  House 
and  the  President  of  the  Senate  both  recognized  the 
fact  in  appointing  their  respective  committees  of 
conference.  In  announcing  the  committee  of  con 
ference  on  the  part  of  the  House,  the  Speaker  said  : 

"  There  are  several  points  of  difference  between  the  two  Houses  of 
exceeding  importance.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Chair  to  adjust  the  con 
ference  so  as  to  represent  those  points  upon  which  the  House  most 
earnestly  insists.  The  three  points  of  difference  especially  involved 
are  the  subject  of  salaries  of  members  and  other  officers,  what  is 
styled  the  Morrill  amendment,  and  the  provision  in  regard  to  the  Pa 
cific  railroad.  The  Chair  thinks  that  so  far  as  he  can  analyze  the 
votes  of  the  House  on  these  propositions,  that  the  following  confereei 
will  fairly  represent  the  views  of  the  House  on  the  various  questions 
Mr.  GARFIELD  of  Ohio,  Mr.  BUTLER  of  Massachusetts,  and  Mr. 
RANDALL  of  Pennsylvania." 

I  was  appointed  chairman  because  I  had  charge 
of  the  bill.  Messrs.  Butler  and  Randall  were  ap 
pointed  because  they  represented  the  declared  will 
of  the  House  on  the  salary  question.  They  were 
not  members  of  the  Committee  on  Appropria 
tions,  and  were  not  familiar  with  the  other  provis 
ions  of  the  bilL  The  salary  clause  was  the  first 
of  the  sixty-five  amendments  referred  to  the  com 
mittee,  and  six  full  hours  were  spent  in  consider 
ing  it.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  battle 
against  the  salary  clause  was  already  lost,  I  made 
the  best  effort  I  could  to  retrieve  it  in  the  conference 
committee.  I  faithfully  presented  the  considerations 
urged  against  it  by  the  minority  in  the  House,  and 
moved  to  strike  out  the  clause  relating  to  congres 
sional  salaries.  The  Senate  conferees  were  unani 
mous  against  the  motion,  and  my  two  associates 
agreed  with  them.  I  moved  to  strike  out  the  retro 
active  feature,  and  the  vote  stood  as  before.  By  the 
same  majority  the  amount  was  fixed  at  $7,500. 
There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  salary 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES   A.   GARFIELD.  $11 

clause  must  stand  or  fall  with  the  bill.  It  was  clear 
that  a  majority  of  the  committee  represented  the 
judgment  of  the  two  Houses. 

In  this  situation  there  were  but  two  courses  be 
fore  me :  one  was  to  refuse  to  act  with  the  confer 
ence  committee,  abandon  the  bill  to  Mr.  Butler,  the 
next  on  the  conference,  and  go  into  the  House  and 
oppose  its  final  passage  ;  the  other  was  to  stand  by 
the  bill,  make  it  as  perfect  as  possible,  limit  and  re 
duce  the  amount  of  the  appropriation  as  much  as 
could  be  done,  and  report  it  to  the  House  for  pas 
sage. 

In  a  word,  I  was  called  upon  to  decide  this  ques 
tion  :  Is  the  salary  amendment  so  impolitic,  so  un 
wise,  so  intolerable,  that  in  order  to  prevent  its  be 
coming  a  law  the  whole  bill  ought  to  be  defeated  ? 
If  so,  it  was  the  duty  of  both  the  Senate  and  the 
House  to  defeat  it ;  and  if  they  passed  it,  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  President  to  veto  it.  Upon  the  decision 
I  then  made,  and  the  reasons  for  and  against  it,  I 
invoke  the  judgment  of  my  constituents  ;  for  there, 
if  anywhere  in  the  course  of  this  legislation,  I  for 
feited  my  claim  to  their  confidence. 

If  the  enactment  of  this  amendment  into  a  law 
was  itself  a  crime,  then  any  bill,  however  important 
it  might  be,  to  which  it  was  attached,  ought  to  be 
defeated.  No  public  emergency  can  justify  theft  or 
robbery.  But  bad  as  this  amendment  was  in  some 
of  its  provisions,  it  is  an  abuse  of  language  and  of 
truth  to  call  it  either  theft  or  robbery.  On  the  con 
trary,  many  of  the  items  of  increase  were  acknowl 
edged  to  be  just,  even  by  those  who  opposed  the 
amendment  most  earnestly.  It  was  clearly  within 
the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  to  pass  that 
clause.  The  Constitution  makes  it  their  duty  to  fix 
the  salary  of  all  officers  of  the  Government,  includ 
ing  their  own. 


312      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

The  retroactive  pay  provided  for  in  this  amend 
ment,  unwise,  indelicate,  and  indefensible  as  I  be 
lieve  it  to  have  been,  was  in  accordance  with  all  the 
precedents,  for  every  increase  of  pay  of  members  of 
Congress  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  has 
applied  to  the  whole  term  of  the  Congress  that  au 
thorized  it.  It  was  not  a  crime,  and  we  have  no 
right  to  say  that  those  who  advocated  it  were  thieves 
and  robbers.  I  opposed  the  whole  scheme  of  in 
crease  of  salaries  chiefly  on  two  grounds : 

First.  That  officers  at  the  national  Capital  were 
already  receiving  higher  rates  of  pay  than  many  of 
those  serving  at  a  distance  ;  and  that  if  we  began 
to  increase  salaries  at  the  Capital,  and  particularly 
our  own,  it  would  be  indecent  and  unjust  not  to  go 
through  the  whole  list  and  make  the  increase  gener 
al.  To  do  this  would  greatly  increase  the  expendi 
tures  already  overgrown  by  the  results  of  the  war  ; 
and, 

Second.  I  opposed  it  because  I  thought  it  pecul 
iarly  impolitic  for  the  Forty-Second  Congress  to  give 
any  new  cause  for  bringing  itself  into  public  odium. 
Much  had  already  occurred  to  throw  discredit  upon 
it,  and  this  would  add  a  new  shade  to  the  colors  in 
which  it  was  being  painted. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  grave  objections  to 
the  defeat  of  the  appropriation  bill.  Everybody 
knew  that  its  failure  would  render  an  extra  session 
of  the  new  Congress  inevitable.  It  is  easy  to  say 
now  that  this  would  have  been  better  than  to  allow 
the  passage  of  the  salary  clause.  Present  evils  al 
ways  seem  greater  than  those  that  never  come.  The 
opinion  was  almost  universal  that  an  extra  session 
would  be  a  serious  evil  in  many  ways,  and  especially 
to  the  Treasury.  Its  cost,  directly  and  indirectly, 
would  far  exceed  the  amount  appropriated  for  retro 
active  salaries.  An  unusual  amount  of  dangerous 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      313 

legislation  was  pressing  upon  Congress  for  action. 
A  measure  to  refund  the  cotton  tax,  which  would 
take  seventy  millions  from  the  Treasury,  was  pressed 
by  a  powerful  organization  in  and  out  of  Congress, 
and  its  consideration  had  only  been  prevented  by  in 
terposing  the  appropriation  bills.  A  vast  number 
of  doubtful  claims  growing  out  of  the  war  were  ready 
to  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  cotton  tax.  To  organize 
a  new  Congress,  which  would  require  the  appoint 
ment  and  organization  of  new  committees,  and  to 
begin  this  bill  anew,  perfect  its  details,  and  pass  it, 
would'  require  many  weeks.  In  the  meantime  the 
field  would  be  clear  for  pushing  all  schemes  against 
the  Treasury. 

But  more  than  this,  the  defeat  of  the  bill  would 
carry  with  it  the  defeat  of  the  only  legislation  by 
which  Congress  has  attempted  for  many  years  to 
check  the  career  of  those  greedy  corporations  whose 
powers  have  become  so  dangerous  to  the  public  wel 
fare.  For  the  first  time  Congress  was  thoroughly 
aroused  to  the  danger ;  and  the  sections  concerning 
the  Pacific  railroad,  which  had  been  added  to  this 
bill,  empowered  and  directed  the  executive,  through 
the  courts,  to  strike  an  effective  blow  against  those 
who  had  already  robbed  the  Pacific  railroad  at  the 
expense  of  the  National  Treasury.  If  these  sections 
failed,  it  was  by  no  means  certain  that  the  new  Con 
gress  would  pass  them ;  and  if  it  did,  the  interests  of 
the  Government  would  greatly  suffer  by  the  delay. 

Only  'a  single  day  and  night  remained  before  the 
final  adjournment,  and  three  other  great  appropri 
ation  bills  were  still  unfinished. 

These  considerations  were  inseparably  connected 
with  the  defeat  of  this  appropriation  bill.  I  knew 
that  if  it  failed  from  any  act  of  mine,  the  responsi 
bility  for  its  failure  would  rest  more  heavily  on  me 
than  upon  any  other  member.  I  had  been  made 


314      THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

responsible  for  its  management,  but  was  in  no  way 
responsible  «for  the  adoption  of  the  salary  amend 
ment. 

After  weighing  the  case  as  well  as  I  could,  I  con 
cluded  it  was  my  duty  to  stand  by  the  bill ;  and  I 
did  so. 

I  remained  in  the  conference,  and  did  what  T 
could  to  perfect  the  bill  and  reduce  the  amount  ap 
propriated  by  it.  On  my  motion  the  following  pro 
viso  was  made  a  part  of  the  bill':  "  Provided,  That  in 
settling  the  pay  and  allowances  of  members  of  the 
Forty-Second  Congress,  all  mileage  shall  be  de 
ducted,  and  no  allowances  shall  be  made  for  expenses 
of  travel."  The  sum  deducted  from  the  additional 
back  pay,  under  this  proviso,  amounted  in  the  aggre 
gate  to  nearly  $400,000 ;  and  the  pay  to  the  mem 
bers  of  the  late  Congress  is  made  less  than  those  of 
the  next  Congress  by  the  total  amount  of  actual 
traveling  expenses. 

The  other  sixty-four  amendments  to  the  bill  were 
satisfactorily  adjusted,  after  many  hours  of  delibera 
tion.  Having  done  what  I  could  to  perfect  the  bill, 
I  signed  the  conference  report  and  presented  it  to 
the  House ;  but  in  doing  so  I  stated  that  I  alone 
had  opposed  the  salary  clause  in  the  conference  com 
mittee,  and  had  done  what  I  could  to  strike  it  out, 
anxi  that  I  had  signed  the  report  rather  than  run  the 
risk  of  losing  the  bill.  I  then  voted  for  the  bill,  not 
for  the  increase  of  salaries  nor  for  the  retroactive 
clause,  for  I  was  opposed  to  both,  but  for  the  bill  as 
a  whole. 

It  is  clear  that  it  would  have  passed  if  I  had  voted 
against  it.  But  believing  that  it  was  better  to  pass 
the  bill,  even  with  the  salary  amendment  included, 
than  risk  the  consequences  of  its  failure,!  voted  for 
it.  It  would  have  been  an  inconsistent  and  cowardly 
act  on  my  part  to  vote  against  it  merely  to  escape 
criticism. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      315 

If  the  bill,  as  reported  from  the  conference  com 
mittee,  ought  to  have  been  defeated,  there  was  one 
well-known  and  very  easy  way  to  do  it.  One-fifth  of 
the  members  present,  by  dilatory  and  filibustering 
motions  and  calling  the  ayes  and  noes,  could  have 
prevented  a  vote  on  the  report  till  the  end  of  the 
session.  Should  the  ninety-six  members  who  voted 
against  the  conference  report  be  censured  for  not 
preventing  its  adoption?  Less  than  half  of  their 
number  could  easily  have  done  so.  But  no  one  of 
them,  so  far  as  I  know,  thought  it  his  duty  to  defeat 
the  bill.  Certainly  I  did  not  think  it  the  duty  of  the 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  to 
lead  such  a  movement. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  conference  report  might 
have  been  recommitted  for  a  further  attempt  to 
strike  off  the  salary  clause.  The  answer  to  this  is, 
that  the  House,  on  an  aye  and  no  vote,  by  nineteen 
majority,  ordered  the  question  to  be  put  on  the 
adoption  of  the  report. 

The  plain  fact  is,  that  the  final  vote  on  the  bill 
was  not  a  test  of  the  sentiments  of  members  of  the 
House  on  the  salary  question.  The  responsibility 
for  the  increase  of  salaries  rests  upon  those  who 
forced  the  amendment  upon  the  bill. 

There  is  one  feature  of  the  case  to  which  I  refer 
with  great  reluctance,  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  the 
injustice  that  is  done  me.  It  is  charged  that  I  voted 
for  the  bill  for  the  purpose  of  putting  $5,000  of  back 
pay  into  my  own  pocket.  I  fearlessly  appeal  to 
friends  and  enemies  alike  to  say  whether  any  act  of 
my  public  life  has  warranted  them  in  imputing  to 
me  unworthy  and  mercenary  motives.  The  point 
here  raised  is  one  to  which  I  did  not  intend  to  refer 
in  this  letter.  I  preferred  to  leave  my  personal 
motives  to  the  future  for  vindication.  But  already, 
without  my  knowledge  or  procurement,  a  paragraph 


3l6      THE   LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

has  found  its  way  to  the  press  which  makes  it  proper 
for  me  to  say  what  I  did  not  wish  paraded  in  public, 
that  I  not  only  did  not  receive  the  back  pay  nor  any 
part  of  it,  but  I  ordered  it  so  covered  into  the  gen 
eral  Treasury  as  to  be  placed  beyond  the  reach  of 
myself  or  my  heirs. 

I  have  thus  stated  the  facts  in  the  case,  that  you 
may  know  precisely  what  I  did,  and  the  reasons  for 
it.  .1  desire  that  this  and  every  other  act  of  my  pub 
lic  life  shall  be  fully  known  to  you.  Ten  years  ago 
you  called  me  from  another  field  of  duty  and  honor 
to  represent  you  in  the  national  Legislature.  Since 
then  you  have  expressed  your  confidence  and  esteem 
in  many  ways,  and  in  none  more  strikingly  than  in 
the  five  re-elections  with  which  you  have  honored 
me. 

I  have  not  been  insensible  to  these  evidences  of 
your  approval.  I  have  conscientiously  sought  to 
serve  you  and  the  country  with  the  best  of  my 
ability.  I  have  spared  neither  time  nor  labor  faith 
fully  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  place  assigned 
me. 

Doubtless  I  have  made  my  full  share  of  mistakes 
and  blunders,  and  my  vote  on  this  bill  may  have 
added  another  to  the  list.  I  respect  no  man  the  less 
for  thinking  so,  but  in  this  as  in  all  my  official  con 
duct  I  acted  for  what  I  regarded  the  public  good. 
Whether  wise  or  unwise,  defensible  or  indefensible, 
that  vote  had  the  approval  of  my  judgment,  and  I  do 
not  shrink  from  any  responsibility  growing  out  of  it. 

But  I  do  not  affect  to  conceal  my  surprise  and  dis 
appointment  at  the  construction  which  has  been 
given  to  that  vote.  Probably  no  man  who,  conscious 
of  his  own  integrity,  has  served  a  constituency  as 
long  as  I  have  served  you  could  see  the  basest  of 
motives  attributed  to  him  and  listen  to  a  public 
demand  for  his  instant  resignation  with  indifference. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       3 1/ 

Certainly  I  cannot.  Were  I  to  follow  my  own  incli 
nations  merely,  I  would  at  once  abandon  a  position  so 
difficult  to  fill  acceptably,  and  which  the  assaults  of 
calumny  have  rendered  on  so  many  accounts  unde 
sirable.  But  the  charge  on  which  the  demand  of 
the  Warren  convention  is  based  is  an  injustice  to 
which  I  cannot  consent.  The  principle  on  which  it 
is  made  rises  above  any  merely  personal  considera 
tion.  If  I  ought  to  resign  for  casting  this  vote, 
every  elective  officer  should  resign  whenever  any  of 
his  official  acts,  done  in  good  faith,  are  strongly  dis 
approved  by  those  who  elected  him.  If  the  delegates 
believe  that  the  retroactive  clause  is  so  infamous  that 
I  ought  to  resign  for  voting  fur  the  appropriation 
bill  to  which  it  was  attached,  will  they  follow  out 
their  logic  and  insist  that  the  President  ought  to 
resign  for  signing  it  ?  My  vote  did  not  make  it  a 
law.  His  signature  did.  I  do  not  consent  to  the 
logic  that  leads  to  such  a  conclusion. 

The  facts  are  before  you,     I  am  ready  anywhere 

and  at  any  time  to  make  good  the  statements  herein 

set  forth,  and  upon  the  facts  I  appeal  from  the  action 

of  the  convention  to  your  more  deliberate  judgment. 

Very  respectfully, 

JAMES   A.   GARFIELD. 

Immediately  upon  receiving  the  check  for  the  in 
crease  of  his  salary,  General  Garfield  sent  it  to  the 
United  States  treasurer,  and  it  was  covered  into  the 
treasury. 


3l8      THE  LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

LABORS   IN   CONGRESS. 

APPOINTMENT  ON  COMMITTEES. — VARIETY  OF  WORK.  —  HIS  LEADER 
SHIP. —  LIST  OF  SPEECHES.  —  THE  ELECTORAL  COMMISSION. — A 
SPEECH  IN  WALL  STREET.  —  VIEWS  ON  FINANCES. —RESUMPTION 
OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS. 

GENERAL  GARFIELD'S  labors  in  Congress  were  of 
the  most  varied  and  arduous  character.  It  seems 
incredible  that  one  man  could  make  so  many  speech 
es,  write  out  so  many  bills,  attend  so  many  commit 
tee  hearings,  and  appear  so  punctually  in  his  seat  as 
he  has  done.  He  carried  the  affairs  of  the  Military 
committee  as  its  practical  head,  until  the  chairman 
ship  of  the  Ways  and  Means  committee,  which  was 
given  him,  took  him  into  a  wider  field.  For  many 
years  he  was  the  leader  of  the  House  in  matters  re 
quiring  hard  work  ;  and  after  the  election  of  Mr. 
Elaine  to  the  Senate,  he  was  regarded  by  the  Repub 
lican  party  as  their  leader  and  oracle,  in  all  their 
debates  and  controversies  with  the  other  party.  He 
studied,  wrote  and  spoke  about  a  vast  variety  of  topics, 
concerning  widely  different  themes,  and,  as  all  admit, 
with  ability  and  good  judgment  He  delivered  ad 
dresses  in  the  House,  which  have  often  been  quoted 
with  respect  by  eminent  scholars,  upon  public  lands, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      319 

river  navigation,  contagious  diseases,  revenue,  cur 
rency,  duties,  specie  payments,  Arctic  explorations, 
science,  schools,  manufactories,  commerce,  agricul 
ture,  appropriations,  law  trials,  Chinese  immigration, 
diplomatic  affairs,  war  claims,  fisheries,  polygamy, 
pensions,  constitutional  amendments,  banks,  slavery, 
treaties  with  foreign  nations,  trade  with  Canada,  elec 
toral  count,  reconstruction,  State  rights,  and  hundreds 
more ;  and,  all  the  while,  was  assiduously  at  work  as 
a  member  of  the  most  important  committees.  His 
eminent  legal  knowledge  pointed  him  out  at  once  as 
the  proper  statesman  for  the  examination  of  the 
Louisiana  trouble,  for  drafting  constitutional  amend 
ments  and  impeachment  reports,  and  for  a  place  on 
that  most  august  of  all  our  national  tribunals,  the 
electoral  commission,  for  adjusting  the  contested 
election  case  between  R.  B.  Hayes  and  Samuel  J. 
Tilden,  the  claimants  for  the  presidential  chair. 

His  study,  at  odd  moments,  of  questions  of  science 
and  education,  made  him  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Board  of  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  and 
his  love  of  literature  secured  the  honorary  member 
ship  in  many  of  the  leading  literary  societies  in  this 
country,  and  of  the  "  Cobden  Club,"  in  London,  on 
motion  of  John  Bright. 

During  those  years  of  restless  activity,  he  wrote 
articles  for  magazines,  and  the  many  addresses  which 
he  delivered,  at  schools,  colleges,  celebrations,  anni 
versaries  and  political  meetings.  Among  his  speech 
es,  none  seems  to  have  given  him  greater  celebrity, 
than  the  short  exclamation  which  he  made  to  the 


32O     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 

crowd  in  Wall  street,  on  the  evening  after  the  assas 
sination  of  President  Lincoln.  The  accounts  in  the 
public  press  gave  it  as  follows  : 

An  enormous  crowd  had  gathered  at  the  Wall 
street  Exchange.  The  wrath  of  the  workingmen 
was  simply  uncontrollable,  and  revolvers  and  knives 
were  in  the  hands  of  thousands  of  Lincoln's  friends, 
ready  to  avenge  the  death  of  the  martyred  president, 
without  being  careful  to  consider  who  deserved  pen 
alty.  Speeches  from  Butler  and  Dickinson  had  done 
nothing  to  appease  the  gathering  wrath  of  the  mob. 
Two  men  had  been  beaten  —  one  lay  dead,  the  other 
dangerously  wounded — for  declaring  that  Lincoln 
ought  to  have  been  hung  long  ago.  Some  had  made 
a  rude  gallows  out  of  scantling,  with  a  looped  halter 
hanging  from  it.  Suddenly  some  one  raised  a  shout, 
"The  World  !  the  World  !  the  office  of  the  World  ! " 
It  was  the  signal  for  a  surging  movement  which  a 
moment  later  would  have  been  a  terrible  march.  Just 
then  a  man  stepped  forward,  with  a  small  flag  in  his 
hand,  and  beckoned  to  the  crowd.  Another  te^- 
gram  from  Washington  !  And  then,  in  the  awful 
stillness  of  the  crisis,  taking  advantage  of  the  hesi 
tation  of  the  crowd,  a  right  arm  was  lifted  skyward, 
and  a  voice  clear  and  steady,  loud  and  distinct,  spoke 
out:  "Fellow  citizens!  Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  Him  !  His  pavilion  is  dark  waters  and 
thick  clouds  of  the  skies  !  Justice  and  judgment  are 
the  establishment  of  his  throne  !  Mercy  and  truth 
shall  go  before  his  face !  Fellow  citizens !  God 
reigns,  and  the  government  at  Washington  still 
lives !  "  The  effect  was  tremendous.  The  crowd 
stood  riveted  to  the  ground  in  awe,  gazing  at  the 
motionless  orator,  and  thinking  of  God  and  the 
security  of  the  government  in  that  hour.  As  the 
boiling  wave  subsides  and  settles  to  the  sea,  when 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       321 

some  strong  wind  beats  it  down,  so  the  tumult  of 
the  people  sank  and  became  still.  All  took  it  as  a 
divine  omen.  It  was  a  triumph  of  eloquence,  in 
spired  by  the  moment,  such  as  falls  to  but  one  man's 
lot,  and  that  but  once  in  a  century. 

His  political  speeches  were  made  the  texts  of  his 
party,  and  his  services  were  eagerly  sought  for  in 
every  doubtful  State.  His  published  speeches  are 
well  worth  preserving,  and  of  being  read  again  and 
again.  Some  of  his  addresses,  including  as  large  a 
variety  as  possible,  in  order  to  show  the  versatility 
of  his  talents,  are  included  in  this  volume. 

During  his  first  session  he  declared  his  views  upon 
the  finances  of  the  nation  ;  and,  as  the  consistency 
of  his  career  on  matters  of  finance  may  be  of  inter 
est  to  all  who  study  his  life,  extracts  from  two  of  his 
speeches  are  given  here  together.  The  first  is  a  brief 
statement  of  his  views  in  1866  ;  the  second  is  a  more 
elaborate  discussion,  made  in  Chicago  in  1879.  The 
remarks  in  Congress  in  1866,  were  as  follows : 

Mr.  Speaker,  there  is  no  leading  financier,  no 
leading  statesman  now  living,  or  one  who  has  lived 
within  the  last  half  century,  in  whose  opinion  the 
gentleman  can  find  any  support.  They  all  declare, 
as  the  Secretary  of  the  treasury  declares,  that  the 
only  honest  basis  of  value  is  a  currency,  redeemable 
in  specie,  at  the  will  of  the  holder.  I  am  an  advocate 
of  paper  money,  but  that  paper  money  must  repre 
sent  what  it  professes  on  its  face.  I  do  not  wish  to 
hold  in  my  hands  the  printed  lies  of  the  government 
I  -want  its  promises  to  pay,  signed  by  the  high  offi 
cers  of  the  government,  sacredly  kept  in  the  exact 
meaning  of  the  words  of  the  promise. 

21 


322      THE    LIFE,  SPEECHES,  AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

Let  us  not  continue  this  conjurer's  art,  by  which 
sixty  cents  shall  discharge  a  debt  of  one  hundred 
cents.  I  do  not  want  industry,  everywhere,  to  be 
thus  crippled  and  wounded,  and  its  wounds  plastered 
over  with  legally  authorized  lies. 

An  Extract  from  General  Garfield's  speech  upon 
the  suspension  and  resumption  of  Specie  Payments, 
before  the  Honest  Money  League  of  Chicago,  January 
2,  1879,  was  printed  as  follows  : 

Successful  Resumption  will  greatly  aid  in  bringing 
into  the  murky  sky  of  our  politics,  what  the  signal 
service  people  call  "  clearing  weather."  It  puts  an 
end  to  a  score  of  controversies  which  have  long  vexed 
the  public  mind,  and  wrought  mischief  to  business. 
It  ends  the  angry  contention  over  the  difference 
between  the  money  of  the  bond-holder  and  the  money 
of  the  plow-holder.  It  relieves  enterprising  Congress 
men  of  the  necessity  of  introducing  twenty-five  or 
thirty  bills  a  session  to  furnish  the  people  with  cheap 
money,  to  prevent  gold-gambling,  and  to  make  cus 
tom  duties  payable  in  greenbacks.  It  will  dismiss  to 
the  limbo  of  things  forgotten,  such  Utopian  schemes 
as  a  currency  based  upon  the  magic  circle  of  intercon- 
vertibility  of  two  different  forms  of  irredeemable  paper, 
and  the  schemes  of  a  currency,  "  based  on  the  public 
faith,"  and  secured  by  "  all  the  resources  of  the  na 
tion,"  in  general,  but  upon  no  particular  part  of  them. 
We  shall  still  hear  echoes  of  the  old  conflict,  such  as 
"  the  barbarism  and  cowardice  of  gold  and  silver," 
and  the  virtues  of  "  fiat  money ; "  but  the  theories 
which  gave  them  birth  will  linger  among  us  like 
belated  ghosts,  and  soon  find  rest  in  the  political 
grave  of  dead  issues.  All  these  will  take  their  places 
in  history  alongside  of  the  resolution  of  Varsittart, 
in  1811,  that  "  British  paper  had  not  fallen,  but  gold 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARF1ELD.       323 

had  risen  in  value,  and  the  declaration  of  Castlereagh, 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  that  "  the  money  standard 
is  a  sense  of  value  in  reference  to  currency  as  com 
pared  with  commodities,"  and  the  opinion  of  another 
member,  who  declared  that  the  standard  is  neither 
gold  nor  silver,  but  something  set  up  in  the  imagina 
tion  to  be  regulated  by  public  opinion." 

When  we  have  fully  awakened  from  these  vague 
dreams,  public  opinion  will  resume  its  old  channels, 
and  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  the  fathers  of  our 
constitution  will  again  be  acknowledged  and  followed. 

We  shall  agree,  as  our  fathers  did,  that  the  yard 
stick  shall  have  length,  the  pound  must  have  weight 
and  the  dollar  must  have  value  in  itself,  and  that 
neither  length,  nor  weight,  nor  value  can  be  created 
by  the  fiat  of  law.  Congress,  relieved  of  the  arduous 
task  of  regulating  and  managing  all  the  business  of 
our  people,  will  address  itself  to  the  humbler  but 
more  important  work  of  preserving  the  public  peace, 
and  managing  wisely  the  revenues  and  expenditures 
of  the  government.  Industry  will  no  longer  wait  for 
the  legislature  to  discover  easy  roads  to  sudden 
wealth,  but  will  begin  again  to  rely  upon  labor  and 
frugality,  as  the  only  certain  road  to  riches.  Prosperi 
ty,  which  has  long  been  waiting,  is  now  ready  to 
come.  If  we  do  not  rudely  repulse  her,  she  will  soon 
revisit  our  people,  and  will  stay  until  another  period 
ical  craze  shall  drive  her  away. 


324     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

SENATOR  AND  CANDIDATE  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. — ACTION  OF  HIS  OLD 
NEIGHBORS.  —  ELECTION  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE  BY  THE  OHIO 
LEGISLATURE.  —  HIS  SPEECH.  —  VIE\VS  OF  HIS  FAMILY.  —  THEIR  NEW 
HOUSE  AT  MENTOR.  —  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION.  —  STRANGE  PROPH- 
KCIES.  —  THE  GREAT  PARTISAN  CONFLICT.  —  HIS  NOMINATION  ON  THE 

THIRTY-blXTH  BALLOT.  —  THE  SLANDEROUS    CAMPAIGN.  —  GENERAL 
GARFIELD'S  BEHAVIOR.  —  TRIUMPHANT  ELECTION. 

WHILE  General  Gar  field  was  contending  with  va 
rying  success  in  the  Congressional  arena,  and  expe 
riencing  all  the  daily  fluctuations  of  public  opinion 
with  regard  to  his  honesty,  wisdom,  and  strength, 
the  admiration  for  him  in  his  own  State  steadily 
increased,  and  the  love  of  his  old  neighbors  and 
friends  abated  not  in  the  least.  His  political  oppo 
nents  of  every  shade  in  Ohio  acknowledged  his  power 
and  genius,  if  they  did  not  admit  the  honesty  or 
wisdom  of  his  political  principles.  So  great  was  his 
prominence  in  Ohio  as  a  statesman,  in  1880,  that 
when  the  vacancy  in  the  senatorial  delegation  from 
that  State  occurred  he  was  looked  upon  by  all  par 
ties  as  the  only  man  who  was  sure  of  the  seat  in  case 
he  desired  to  occupy  it. 

January  13,  1880,  the  Ohio  Legislature  elected 
him  to  the  United  States  Senate.  It  was,  however, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       325 

one  of  those  political  movements  which  every  one 
felt  was  to  be,  and  created  no  unusual  excitement 
for  that  reason.  The  kindly  relations  which  existed 
between  him  and  his  political  opponents  cannot  be 
better  shown  than  by  a  quotation  from  his  speech  of 
January  14,  1880,  thanking  the  Ohio  Legislature  for 
his  election.  In  that  he  said  :  — 

I  recognize  the  importance  of  the  place  to  which 
you  have  elected  me ;  and  I  should  be  base  if  I  did 
not  also  recognize  the  great  man  whom  you  have 
elected  me  to  succeed.  I  say  for  him,  that  Ohio 
has  had  few  larger-minded,  broader-minded  men  in 
the  records  of  our  history  than  Allen  G.  Thur- 
man.  Differing  widely  from  him  as  I  have  done 
in  politics,  and  do,  I  recognize  him  as  a  man  high  in 
character  and  great  in  intellect ;  and  I  take  this  oc 
casion  to  refer  to  what  I  have  never  before  referred 
to  in  public,  that  many  years  ago,  in  the  storm  of 
party  fighting,  when  the  air  was  filled  with  all  sorts  of 
missiles  aimed  at  the  character  and  reputation  of  pub 
lic  men,  when  it  was  even  for  his  party  interest  to 
join  the  general  clamor  against  me  and  my  associ 
ates,  Senator  Thurman  said  in  public,  in  the  cam 
paign,  on  the  stump  —  when  men  are  as  likely  to 
say  unkind  things  as  at  any  place  in  the  world  —  a 
most  generous  and  earnest  word  of  defense  and  kind 
ness  for  me,  which  I  shall  never  forget  as  long  as  I 
live.  I  say,  moreover,  that  the  flowers  that  bloom 
over  the  garden  wall  of  party  politics  are  the  sweet 
est  and  most  fragrant  that  bloom  in  the  gardens  of 
this  world  ;  and  where  we  can  early  pluck  them  and 
enjoy  their  fragrance,  it  is  manly  and  delightful  to 
do  so. 

But  his  promotion  to  the  Senate,  as  honorable  and 


326     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

as  desirable  a  thing  as  it  seemed  to  be  to  many  peo 
ple,  was  regarded  by  his  family  in  the  same  light  in 
which  they  had  seen  his  previous  elections  and  com 
missions.  It  was  after  all  a  sacrifice.  The  quiet  of 
home,  which  his  dear  old  mother  and  modest  wife  so 
much  loved,  would  be  again  further  invaded,  and  the 
time  of  rest  and  domestic  quiet  so  much  desired  was 
placed  six  years  ahead.  They  had  been  enabled, 
partly  by  the  help  of  friends,  to  purchase  a  small 
farm  in  Mentor,  on  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  but  a 
short  ride  by  railway  from  Cleveland.  It  was  in  a 
very  retired  spot  and  surrounded  by  small  farms.  It 
was  rural  and  secluded.  The  post-office  was  half  a 
mile  away  in  a  country  store,  and  the  railroad  sta 
tion  still  farther  from  his  farm,  and  was  reached  by 
a  rough  country  road,  as  circuitous  as  it  was  prim 
itive. 

It  was  a  locality  that  seems  to  have  pleased  them 
all,  and  there,  in  1880,  the  old  buildings  were  replaced 
by  a  plain,  substantial  cottage,  contrasting  strangely 
with  the  piles  of  graven  stone  and  mansions  of  brick 
and  wood  at  Washington.  The  family  occupied  the 
house  as  soon  as  it  was  covered,  and  lived  happily 
and  busily  amid  the  shavings  of  carpenters,  the  odor 
of  new  paint,  and  the  clangor  of  hammers.  The 
writer  happened  to  visit  them  soon  after  they  moved 
into  the  new  house,  and  found  the  General's  writing 
table  in  the  front  hall,  surrounded  by  boxes,  furni 
ture,  papers,  letters,  books,  children,  and  callers. 
Yet  how  happy  they  all  seemed  !  How  changed  that 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       327 

home  to-day,  in  the  absence  of  only  one  of  those 
who  made  that  happy,  bustling  family  ! 

It  was  while  General  Garfield  was  engaged  in  over 
seeing  the  repair  of  the  fences,  the  plowing  of  the 
fields,  and  the  work  upon  his  humble  dwelling  that 
he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  Conven 
tion  of  1880,  which  afterwards  met  in  Chicago.  As 
a  public  man  well  known  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  one  who  would  be  certain  to  have  great  influence 
in  that  political  assembly,  he  was  very  strongly 
importuned  by  the  friends  of  the  prominent  candi 
dates  for  nomination.  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine  and 
Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  were  the  leading  aspirants,  and  Gen 
eral  Garfield  was  pressed  by  the  friends  of  each,  in 
correspondence  and  personal  interviews,  to  support 
them.  But  he  was  wise  enough  to  see  that  the  very 
zeal  which  the  canvassers  displayed  must  defeat  them 
both  or  defeat  the  party.  He  also  felt  that  the  only 
great  question  then  before  the  country  was  connected 
with  the  management  of  the  finances  of  the  nation, 
and  thought  it  due  to  the  successful  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Hon.  John  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  that  he  should 
be  made  President.  Hence  he  threw  his  whole  in 
fluence  and  active  support  in  favor  of  Mr.  Sherman. 

When  the  great  convention  met  at  Chicago,  and  an 
almost  unexampled  warfare  was  opened  between  the 
factions  we  have  mentioned,  General  Garfield  came 
before  the  great  assembly  boldly  and  cheerfully,  —  al 
though  he  knew  he  was  counted  with  a  very  small 
minority,  —  and  while  the  contention  over  Mr.  Elaine 


328     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,   AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

and  General  Grant  was  silenced  for  a  few  minutes, 
made  the  following  speech,  and  nominated  Mr.  Sher 
man  :  — 

Mr.  President :  —  I  have  witnessed  the  extraordi 
nary  scenes  of  this  convention  with  deep  solicitude. 
No  emotion  touches  my  heart  more  quickly  than  sen 
timent  in  honor  of  a  great  and  noble  character ;  but 
as  I  sat  on  these  seats  and  witnessed  these  demon 
strations,  it  seemed  to  me  that  you  were  a  human 
ocean  in  a  tempest.  I  have  seen  the  sea  lashed 
into  fury  and  tossed  into  spray,  and  its  grandeur 
mov.es  the  soul  of  the  dullest  man.  But  I  remember 
that  it  is  not  the  billows,  but  the  calm  level  of  the 
sea,  from  which  all  heights  and  depths  are  measured  ; 
when  the  storm  has  passed,  and  the  hour  of  calm 
settles  on  the  ocean,  when  the  sunlight  bathes  its 
smooth  surface,  then  the  astronomer  and  surveyor 
take  the  level  from  which  they  measure  all  terres 
trial  heights  and  depths. 

Gentlemen  of  the  convention,  your  present  temper 
may  not  mark  the  healthful  pulse  of  our  people. 
When  our  enthusiasm  has  passed,  when  the  emo 
tions  of  this  hour  have  subsided,  we  shall  feel  that 
calm  level  of  public  opinion  below  the  storm  from 
which  the  thoughts  of  a  mighty  people  must  be  meas 
ured,  and  by  which  their  final  action  will  be  deter 
mined. 

Not  here  in  this  brilliant  circle,  where  15,000  men 
and  women  are  assembled,  is  the  destiny  of  the  Re 
publican  party  to  be  decreed.  Not  here,  where  I 
see  the  enthusiastic  faces  of  756  delegates,  waiting 
to  cast  their  votes  into  the  urn,  and  determine  the 
choice  of  the  republic  ;  but  by  4,000,000  Republican 
firesides,  where  the  thoughtful  voters,  with  wives  and 
children  about  them,  with  the  calm  thoughts  inspired 
by  love  of  home  and  love  of  country,  with  the  his- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       329 

tory  of  the  past,  the  hopes  of  the  future,  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  great  men  who  have  adorned  and 
blessed  our  nation  in  days  gone  by.  There  God 
prepares  the  verdict  that  shall  determine  the  wisdom 
of  our  work  to-night.  Not  in  Chicago,  in  the  heats 
of  June,  but  in  the  sober  quiet  that  comes  to  them 
between  now  and  November,  in  the  silence  of  delib 
erate  judgment,  will  this  great  question  be  settled. 

At  the  close  of  his  speech  an  enthusiastic  delegate 
from  one  of  the  Southern  States  shouted,  "  Why 
don't  you  take  the  nomination  yourself  ?  " 

Soon  after,  in  the  fury  of  the  political  whirlwind, 
the  question  was  raised  whether  a  delegate  from 
Virginia  should  be  permitted  to  act  in  the  conven 
tion,  who  openly  declared  that  he  should  not  consider 
himself  bound  by  its  action  if  it  did  not  nominate 
the  man  he  desired  to  support.  It  created  a  noisy, 
angry  debate,  and  many  feared  a  dissolution  of  the 
convention  in  an  angry  riot,  when  General  Garfield 
appeared  before  them.  He  seemed  to  be  the  only 
man  who  could  pour  oil  on  the  foaming  waves.  Most 
successfully  and  manfully  he  did  it.  He  took  the 
side  of  the  minority,  and  in  five  minutes  it  was  the 
side  of  the  great  majority.  That  brave,  kind  act, 
and  those  noble  words  declaring  that  every  man's 
conscience  was  in  his  own  keeping  and  ought  to  be 
respected,  had  such  an  effect  on  the  delegates  of 
the  convention  that,  while  they  became  calm  and 
decorous,  they  also  felt  that  some  time  in  the  future 
they  would  like  the  privilege  of  voting  for  him  as 
their  candidate  for  the  presidency. 


33O     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

After  the  temporary  adjournment  of  the  conven 
tion  for  dinner  on  the  second  day,  and  while  the  del 
egates  were  returning  to  the  hall,  a  tract  distributer 
of  the  Chicago  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
passed  to  each,  as  they  entered,  a  slip  of  paper,  on 
which  was  printed  a  verse  of  the  Bible.  The  one  he 
gave  to  General  Garfield,  and  which  the  General 
pinned  inside  of  his  straw  hat,  and  soon  after  showed 
to  the  writer  of  this  book,  contained  verses  eleven 
and  twelve  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Acts,  —  in  a  most 
prophetic  manner  saying :  "  This  is  the  stone  which 
was  set  at  nought  of  you  builders,  which  is  become 
the  head  of  the  corner.  Neither  is  there  salvation  in 
any  other." 

General  Garfield  had  not  then  the  remotest  idea 
that  the  convention  would  select  him  as  its  candi 
date  ;  for  the  delegates  did  not  seriously  turn  to  him 
until  the  thirty-fifth  ballot.  With  his  whole  mind 
intent  upon  preserving  the  harmony  of  the  conven 
tion  through  the  hours  and  days  of  its  probable  ses 
sion,  he  simply  saved  the  printed  slip  as  a  matter  of 
respect  for  the  Bible  and  the  self-sacrificing  tract- 
distributer.  He  did  not  notice  it  again  until  after 
the  close  of  the  ten  days'  session,  and  after  his  name 
had  been  shouted  with  the  wildest  enthusiasm  by 
the  great  throng  at  the  convention,  and  was  posted 
in  every  city  and  town  of  the  nation  where  the  tele 
graphic  wires  extended. 

Then  how.quickly  on  the  lips  of  the  masses  of  his 
political  party,  and  on  many  of  the  pages  of  the  par- 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       33! 

tisan  press  which  supported  him,  were  heard,  for  the 
first  time,  the  words,  "Great,"  "Hero,"  "Statesman," 
"Scholar"!  Then,  too,  how  suddenly  the  political 
opponents  of  his  party  discovered  that  he  had  always 
been,  in  their  estimation,  a  "Coward,"  "Bribe-taker," 
"Charlatan,"  "Lobbyist,"  and  "Renegade  Preacher"  ! 

It  is  as  interesting  as  it  is  sweet  to  find  that  this 
sudden  and  great  promotion  did  not  come  to  his  fam 
ily  as  a  matter  very  much  to  be  desired.  Mrs.  Gar- 
field,  with  an  indescribable  tenderness  and  modesty, 
declared  that  it  came  to  her  like  a  calamity.  She 
did  not  prefer  the  life  in  Washington,  and  dreaded 
both  for  him  and  for  herself  the  cares  and  perplexi 
ties  of  the  White  House.  The  children  loved  the 
farm  best,  and  the  little  barefooted  son,  up  in  a  cherry- 
tree,  declared  to  a  questioner  that  they  did  not  have 
"  such  fruit  nor  such  trees  in  Washington." 

At  the  opening  of  the  political  campaign  there  was 
a  feeling  in  the  country  that  the  Republican  candi 
dates  could  not  be  elected,  owing  to  the  local  suc 
cesses  of  the  Democratic  party,  indicating  an  increase 
of  strength,  and  owing  also  to  the  bitter  divisions  in 
the  Republican  party  among  the  friends  of  disap 
pointed  candidates.  y 

About  a  week  after  the  nomination,  the  writer  told 
General  Garfield  that  there  appeared  to  be  but  little 
hope  of  success.  But  he  was  as  confident  as  if  he 
already  knew  the  result,  and  significantly  pointed 
upward,  saying,  "  There  is  a  God."  Shortly  after  he 
handed  the  writer  a  letter  from  his  secretary  at  his 


332      THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

residence  in  Washington,  who  wrote  that  on  the  day 
of  the  nomination  at  Chicago,  and  at  the  time  the 
last  vote  was  being  taken,  a  great  American  eagle 
hovered  over  the  city,  and  at  last  alighted  on  the  roof 
of  General  Garfield's  house.  It  was  a  singular  inci 
dent,  and  the  significant  look  which  General  Garfield 
gave  as  he  passed  the  letter  was  most  inspiring  and 
impressive. 

His  speeches  during  the  trying  interval  between 
his  nomination  and  election  were  models  of  modesty 
and  statesmanship.  He  possessed  a  character  which 
would  bear  study.  He  was  a  man  of  whom  the  more 
was  known  the  greater  would  be  the  respect  for  his 
ability  and  intentions.  The  Republican  cause  thrived 
through  the  great  impulse  which  General  Garfield's 
domestic  and  public  life  and  self-sacrificing  spirit 
gave  to  the  canvass. 

It  was  a  bitter  thing,  however,  to  his  affectionate 
wife  and  faithful  relatives  to  see  again  and  again  re 
vived  the  most  slanderous  statements  concerning  his 
life.  Stories  that  were  conceived  in  the  purest  mal 
ice,  and  enlarged  upon  by  the  campaign  orators  and 
writers,  would  not  die  with  repeated  killing.  -It  is 
probable,  however,  that  his  candidacy,  like  every  other 
good  cause,  prospered  by  persecution.  The  more 
hateful  the  slanders,  the  more  active  were  his  friends. 
The  more  untruthful  the  statements  of  the  press,  the 
more  numerous  his  adherents.  It  was  a  period  when 
General  Garfield  was  compelled  to  stand  silently  and 
immovably  before  all  detractors,  enemies,  and  scandal- 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  333 

mongers,  and  receive  without  retaliation  all  the  poi 
sonous  darts  they  incessantly  hurled  at  him.  No 
event  of  his  life  was  so  much  used  and  abused  as  his 
acquaintance  and  business  transactions  with  Hon. 
Oakes  Ames  during  the  great  "  Credit  Mobilier  "  ex 
citement  mentioned  in  the  previous  pages.  Now 
that  both  men  are  seen  through  the  funereal  halo 
which  their  deaths  have  placed  about  their  memo 
rials,  we  only  look  and  wonder  that  to  either  of  those 
honorable  men  such  a  martyrdom  could  come,  among 
an  intelligent,  civilized,  and  Christian  people.  The 
lesson  it  teaches  is  very  important,  but  seldom  made 
practical :  that  is,  that  we  should  so  regard  and  so 
treat  the  living  men  that  "when  they  are  gone  we 
shall  not  regret  it.  It  is  silly,  unmanly,  unchristian, 
to  vilify  a  man  while  he  lives,  and  then  exalt  his 
name  as  a  saint  or  an  angel  when  he  is  dead,  —  both 
positions  being  false  and  despicable. 

General  Garfield  was  a  man, — a  generous,  frank, 
sympathetic  man,  of  strong  intellectual  power,  and 
clear,  conscientious  convictions.  He  was  human. 
He  had  faults.  He  made  mistakes.  He  sometimes 
advocated  measures  which  time  shows  to  have  been 
unwise.  Measured  by  the  great  deeds  of  heroes, 
statesmen,  and  martyrs  of  the  past,  he  had  not  the 
opportunity  to  be  so  heroic  or  so  illustrious.  He 
was  a  model  American  citizen  ;  and  of  such  we  have 
many  thousands  more.  Let  not  another  great  and 
good  man  die  in  America  unappreciated.  It  is  cruel 
and  foolish  to  reserve  our  support  and  praise  until 


334     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

after  the  statesman  or  patriot  is  dead.  One  lesson 
which  the  study  of  this  life  teaches  is  but  the  revival 
of  the  Chinese  philosopher's  exhortation  :  "Be  spar 
ing  of  your  curses  while  the  man  lives.  Be  sparing 
of  extravagant  laudations  after  he  is  dead."  To 
which  may  be  added  this  observation  :  that  slander, 
persecution,  and  the  spirit  of  assassination  before 
the  death,  and  hero  worship  after  the  death,  are  both 
relics  of  an  uncivilized  or  unchristian  age. 

The  first  Tuesday  in  November,  after  the  nomina 
tion  of  General  Garfield,  was  the  Constitutional  day 
of  election.  But  the  tide  of  public  opinion  had  set 
so  much  in  favor  of  General  Garfield  that  the  people 
felt  that  his  election  was  a  certainty.  General  W. 
S.  Hancock,  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  United 
States  Army,  was  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic 
party  ;  and  having  a  thrilling  record  as  a  soldier,  and 
an  excellent  reputation  as  a  gentleman,  drew  upper 
most  the  best  elements,  and  called  forth  the  full 
strength,  of  his  party.  But  when  the  sunset  gun  was 
fired  on  that  exciting  day  of  the  contest  General 
Garfield's  political  victory  was  undoubted  and  com 
plete.  He  was  sure  of  two  hundred  and  fourteen 
electora  votes,  while  General  Hancock  had  but  one 
hundred  and  fifty-five. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       335 


CHAPTER   XX. 

INAUGURATION. 

ASSAILED  BY  OFFICK-SKEKERS.  —  THE  RESPONSIBILITIES  AND  ANNOY 
ANCES  OF  A  PRESIDENT.  —  METHODS  OF  SECURING  A  HEARING.  — 
GENERAL,  GARFIELD's  SKLF-SA  ORIFICE.  — HIS  HOME  LIFE  BROKEN  UP. 
—  CEREMONIES  OF  INAUGURATION. —  DIFFICULTIES  IN  SELECTION  OF 
COUNSELORS.  — TH^  CABINET. 

EVERY  blessing  has  its  accompanying  -eyil,  of 
greater  or  less  magnitude,  and  an  election  to  the 
high  position  of  President  of  the  United  States  is  far 
from  being  an  exception.  When  the  trials,  annoy 
ances,  temptations,  and  dangers  are  carefully  weighed 
it  is  a  strange  thing  that  great  men  should  desire  it. 
To  perform  all  the  duties  faithfully  and  ably,  the 
President  is  compelled  to  forsake  his  family,  his  so 
cial  and  religious  privileges,  his  books,  his  friends, 
and  his  rest,  and  constantly  grapple  with  the  evils 
which  ceaselessly  assail  both  himself  and  the  nation. 
The  greatest  of  all  these  evils  is  connected  with  the 
change  or  recommissioning  of  all  the  officers  of  the 
nation  at  each  inauguration. 

From  an  early  hour  on  the  morning  after  his  elec 
tion  until  his  death  at  Elberon,  his  time  was  taken, 
his  footsteps  dogged,  or  his  sick-bed  disturbed  with 


336     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

the  ceaselessly  importuning  office  seekers.  Such  a 
state  of  affairs  is  a  great  disgrace  to  our  nation,  and 
one  which  General  Garfield  was  determined  to  rem 
edy  if  possible. 

The  behavior  of  many  aspirants  for  official  position 
was  but  little  less  than  that  of  the  assassin  himself. 
They  invaded  his  private  house  in  swarms.  They 
stopped  his  carriage  in  the  street;  they  called  him 
out  of  bed ;  they  bored  him  in  the  railroad  carriages 
and  stations ;  they  wrote  to  his  wife  and  his  sons ; 
they  courted,  fawningly,  all  his  old  neighbors  and  rel 
atives.  They  covered  him  with  flattery  more  con 
temptible  than  slander ;  they  filled  his  office  with 
piles  of  letters  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  read  or 
answer ;  they  sent  him  tempting  presents  (?)  ;  they 
wrote  most  silly  laudations  of  his  life,  and  published 
them,  to  his  great  disgust ;  and  teasing,  coaxing, 
threatening,  they  made  anxious  and  unhappy  nearly 
every  hour  of  his  life  after  his  election.  More  than 
six  hundred  applications  were  made  for  one  office  be 
fore  he  had  the  right  to  make  the  appointment.  He 
could  give  it  to  but  one,  and  thus  innocently  made 
more  than  six  hundred  bitter  enemies. 

Men  who  had  supported  him  in  the  election,  or 
who  urged  his  name  at  Chicago,  demanded  the  right 
to  place  their  friends  in  office.  He  could  not  please 
them  all.  He  said  so  ;  and  some  of  his  life-long 
friends,  not  appreciating  his  great  responsibilities 
and  difficulties,  accused  him  in  unmeasured  terms  of 
gross  ingratitude.  The  outcry  of  the  people  against 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       337 

the  practice  which  Charles  Sumner  called  "  nepo 
tism"  compelled  General  Garfield,  as  a  servant  of  the 
people,  to  refuse  an  appointment  to  personal  friends 
or  relatives  in  many  cases  where  such  a  disposition 
of  the  office  would  otherwise  have  been  acceptable. 
The  fact  that  he  had  the  power  to  appoint  his  friends 
was  the  very  fact  which  hindered  him  in  granting 
their  requests.  He  frankly  told  them  so  when  they 
applied  to  him,  and  looks  of  scorn,  hatred,  and  con 
tempt  came  to  him  from  faces  which  had  till  then 
smiled  continuously  on  him  through  a  life-time. 

As  Mrs.  Garfield  had  predicted,  their  home  life 
was  gone.  No  more  domestic  quiet ;  no  more  social 
family  gatherings  ;  no  more  rest.  Naught  came  to 
them  but  pressing  cares  and  almost  disheartening 
responsibilities.  Even  the  little  boys  felt  the  wear 
of  ceaseless  visiting,  and  sought  an  .asylum  away  in 
the  barn  or  at  a  neighbor's  house.  Nothing  they 
possessed  was  longer  their  own.  They  and  theirs 
were  treated  as  public  property,  and  the  ceaseless 
vigils  of  the  public  press  told  to  the  whole  world 
their  slightest  movements,  even- to  an  extended  ac 
count  of  the  youngest  boy's  truancy  at  school,  and  of 
the  daughter's  different  dresses.  There  was  no  es 
cape  from  the  public  gaze,  and  the  unexpected  dis 
closure  in  the  papers  of  each  minor  event  made  the 
press  seem  omnipotent.  The  lens  which  showed, 
them  thus  was  also  one  that  burned  at  its  focus. 

He  that  gives  himself  to  his  nation  must  be  pre 
pared  for  any  and  every  sacrifice.     To  make  it  cheer- 
22 


THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

fully  is  one  element  of  greatness.     That,  it  can  safely 
be  said,  General  Garfield  did.     Abandoning  all  hope 
of  personal  rest  or  pleasure,  he  gave  himself  wholly 
and    cheerfully    to    the   nation.      Through    all    the 
months  preceding  his  inauguration  he  planned,  dis 
cussed,  and  studied  how  to  remedy  the  evil  of  par 
tisan  appointments  in  the  civil  service.     It  was  al 
most  the  only  great  evil  which  threatened  or  endan 
gered  the  republic.    His  attempt  was  sincere,  honest, 
and  determined.     The  people  saw  it  and  appreciated 
it ;  and  when  the  time  of  inauguration  came,  March 
4,  1 88 1,  they  showed  their  increasing  respect  by  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  ceremonial  displays  which 
the  nation  ever  witnessed.     With  vast  throngs  of  en 
thusiastic  visitors,  with  long  lines  of  military  organ 
izations  in  their  gay  trappings,  with  miles  of  bunting 
and   clouds  of  flags    and  streamers,  with   trumpets, 
drums,  bands,  and  singing,   with   feasts,    collations, 
speeches,  and  a  grand  ball,  with  huzzahs,  congratula 
tions,   and  all  kinds  of  demonstrations  of  joy,   the 
people  hailed  him  as  their  chief  magistrate.     It  was 
the  more  remarkable  because  the  administration  of 
General  Hayes  had  been  very  successful  and  peace 
ful,  —  successful  because  it  was  peaceful,  and  peace 
ful  because   it  was    successful.     The  demonstration 
was   also    surprising  inasmuch  as  no  great  reforms 
beyond  those  of  the  civil  service  were  expected  or 
demanded   by   the   people.      It   was  a   spontaneous 
demonstration  of  respect  and  love,  which  grew  out 
of  their  personal  regard  for  the  personal  character  of 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       339 

the  President,  rather  than  a  demonstration  connected 
with  any  national  issue.  All  parties  united  to  do 
him  honor,  and  General  Hancock,  the  defeated  can 
didate  of  the  Democratic  party,  accepted  promptly 
an  invitation  to  participate  in  the  popular  ceremo 
nies  of  the  day. 

But  even  so  important  an  occasion  as  that  of  his 
installation  to  the  headship  of  one  of  the  mightiest 
nations  of  earth  was  not  without  impertinent  intru 
sions  by  greedy  office  seekers. 

What  a  grand  scene  was  that  in  the  Senate  Cham 
ber,  in  the  great  rotunda,  and  on  the  porch  of  the 
Capitol,  when  General  Garfield  took  the  oath  of  office 
and  delivered  his  inaugural  address  !  He  was  calm 
and  firm  in  all  his  movements  before  the  assembled 
thousands,  and  his  voice  was  clear  and  strong  as  he 
read  his  recommendations  concerning  a  better  civil 
service.  How  little  did  he  know  that  he  must  give 
his  life  for  those  principles  before  the  people  could 
be  made  to  realize  the  situation ! 

If  in  the  short  intervals  in  the  work  and  talk  of 
that  great  day  he  had  time  for  reflection,  how  like  a 
dream  to  him  must  have  been  the  log  cabin  of  boy 
hood,  the  piles  of  wood  he  had  chopped,  the  rough 
work  of  the  farm,  and  the  rude  accommodations  at 
school ;  his  praying  mother,  his  devoted  sisters,  his 
affectionate  cousins,  his  old  schoolmates  separated 
from  him  by  an  official  distance  unmeasurable,  must 
have  come  to  his  mind  in  that  hour  with  a  strange 
impression.  He  was  still  a  son,  a  husband,  a  father, 


34°     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLLC    SERVICES 

a  brother,  a  friend,  a  citizen  ;  and  yet  he  was  in  the 
seat  of  a  king.  To  fill  the  duties  of  these  widely- 
separated  positions,  as  he  nobly  filled  them,  was  one 
of  his  greatest  claims  to  human  greatness. 

General  Garfield's  situation  in  relation  to  the  fac 
tions  of  the  Republican  party,  and  his  determination 
to  preserve  the  tranquillity  of  the  country,  made  the 
selection  of  his  cabinet  one  of  the  most  difficult  ques 
tions  ever  suggested  for  his  study.  If  he  appointed 
only  those  who  had  supported  him,  it  would  show  his 
appreciation  of  their  friendship,  and  endanger  the 
peace  of  the  nation.  If  he  appointed  those  who  had 
opposed  him,  it  would  lead  to  dissatisfaction  through 
the  inclination  of  men  to  say  it  was  a  selfish  bid  for 
a  second  term.  If  he  appointed  Hon.  James  G. 
Elaine,  then  he  should  offend  Hon.  Roscoe  Conk- 
ling,  who  was  the  leading  opponent  of  Mr.  Elaine  at 
the  Chicago  Convention.  If  he  appointed  Mr.  Conk- 
ling,  then  Mr.  Elaine  or  his  friends  would  accuse  the 
President  of  partisanship.  If  he  appointed  both,  there 
would  be  a  dangerous  lack  of  harmony  in  the  cabinet. 
If  he  omitted  them  all  and  their  supporters,  there 
was  but  a  small  class  from  which  to  choose  his  coun 
selors.  So,  endeavoring  to  look  at  the  question  from 
a  citizen's  stand-point,  but  knowing  that  he  could  not 
please  all,  he  selected  those  who,  while  they  repre 
sented  each  prominent  political  movement  of  the  day, 
would  be  willing  to  hide  their  partisan  and  per 
sonal  differences  for  the  sake  of  the  public  good. 
With  that  feeling,  and  that  sincere  desire  for  the 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 


341 


prosperity  of  the  nation  which  was  characteristic  of 
all  his  public  life,  he  announced  his  cabinet  as  fol 
lows  :  Secretary  of  State,  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine ; 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  William  Windom,  of  Min 
nesota  ;  Attorney-General,  Wayne  MacVeagh,  of  Penn 
sylvania  ;  Secretary  of  War,  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  of 
Illinois  ;  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  William  H.  Hunt, 
of  Louisiana ;  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood,  of  Iowa ;  Postmaster-General,  Thomas  L. 
James,  of  New  York. 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE. 


342     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,   AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

•- 

THE   ASSASSINATION. 

CHARLES  J.  OUITEAU.  —  SEEKING  AN  APPOINTMENT.  —  EVENTS  OF  HIS 
LIFE.  —  HIS  DISHONESTY.  — A  LAWYER,  WRITER,  AND  STUMP-SPEAKER. 
APPLIES  FOR  A  CONSULSHIP.  —  THE  REFUSAL.  —  DEADLY  PURPOSE. 

—  ENCOURAGEMENT    FROM   THE   POLITICAL   CONTEST   IN   THE   SENATE. 

—  DETERMINES   TO   MURDER   THE   PRESIDENT.  —  HOPES   OF    ESCAPE.— 
FOLLOWING     THE     PRESIDENT. — FAILURE     OF     HIS     COURAGE.  —  MRS. 
GARFIELD'S     PALE    FACE    SAVES    THE    PRESIDENT.  — THE    FINAL     AT 
TEMPT. —  THE   MEETING.  — THE     FATAL    SHOT. — THE    PRISON. — THK 
WHITE    HOUSE. — UNIVERSAL    GRIEF.  —  EXHIBITIONS    OF    HEROIC    DE 
VOTION   AND    LOVE.  —  THE   PRISONER  IN   HIS   CELL. 

AMONG  the  thousands  of  persistent  hunters  for 
office  who  followed  General  Garfield  and  intruded 
themselves  upon  his  notice  at  unwelcome  hours  was 
a  man,  forty  years  of  age,  and  of  rather  slender  stat 
ure,  by  the  name  of  Charles  J.  Guiteau.  He  was 
born  in  Freeport,  Illinois,  and  was  by  profession  a 
lawyer.  He  was  not  long  in  the  practice  of  law,  ow 
ing  to  the  fact  that,  in  Chicago  and  New  York,  the 
only  places  where  he  opened  his  office,  he  was  un 
able  to  obtain  business.  He  seems  to  have  been 
from  earliest  boyhood  an  erratic,  self-willed,  cruel 
character.  He  was  a  student  at  Ann  Arbor  Univer 
sity,  and  was  a  gifted  man  in  many  respects.  He 


)F  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       343 

married  a  most  lovable  lady  in  Chicago,  but  was  so 
immoral,  cruel,  and  licentious  that  she  obtained  a 
divorce  about  two  years  after  marriage.  Finding 
the  profession  of  law  to  be  a  failure,  and  getting 
into  jail  in  New  York  through  some  irregular  prac 
tice  and  swindling,  he  concluded,  on  his  escape,  to 
adopt  the  literary  profession.  Having  in  his  early 
life  been  connected  with  the  Oneida  Community  and 
several  other  singular  and  seclusive  religious  bodies, 
he  concluded  that  in  the  line  of  religious  books  he 
might  achieve  success. 

This  attempt  was  also  a  failure.  He  wrote  and 
published  a  book  called  "  Truth,"  and  resorted  to 
anything  but  religious  and  moral  means  to  create  a 
market  for  it.  He  floated  about  from  city  to  city, 
swindling  landladies  and  hotels,  and  whoever  would 
trust  him.  His  plausible  manner  and  knowledge  of 
religious  literature  gained  him  admission  to  the  clergy 
and  churches,  and  nearly  all  of  them  suffered  more 
or  less  from  his  dishonesty.  He  once  took  an  office 
in  the  Congregational  House  in  Boston,  and  was  for 
a  time  advertised  as  a  lecturer  on  religious  topics. 
His  success  in  his  dishonesty  was  so  small  that  none 
cared  to  take  the  trouble  to  prosecute  him,  and  he 
failed  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  law  his  just  de 
serts. 

Being  laughed -at,  hooted,  and  driven  out  of  the 
field  as  a  religious  lecturer,  he  turned  his  attention 
to  politics,  and,  by  his  great  assurance  and  falsehoods, 
secured  engagements  and  money  in  the  campaign  of 


344      THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

1880,  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Illinois.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  persons,  after  the  election,  to 
send  to  General  Garfield  for  an  appointment.  He 
importuned  the  prominent  politicians  of  New  York 
State  for  letters  of  recommendation,  and  received 
several.  He  appeared  in  Washington  during  Gen 
eral  Garfield's  visit  there,  before  the  inauguration, 
and  construed,  or  pretended  to  construe,  a  promise 
to  see  him  again  into  the  promise  to  grant  him  an 
appointment  as  consul  at  Marseilles. 

He  frequently  stated  to  persons  from  whom  he 
borrowed  money,  and  to  the  proprietors  of  boarding- 
houses  where  he  owed  for  his  board,  that  the  ap 
pointment  was  promised  to  him,  and  he  should  soon 
be  able  to  pay  his  debts.  Some  persons  excused  his 
eccentricities  and  dishonesty  by  the  thought  that  he 
was  insane,  and  his  father,  before  he  died,  seemed  to 
think  that  his  son's  persistent  lying  and  swindling  was 
the  result  of  a  diseased  brain.  But  when  the  pecul 
iarities  of  his  father's  religious  opinions  and  eccentric 
behavior,  which  were  often  exceedingly  strange,  are 
noted  with  the  fact  that  his  mother  died  in  his  in 
fancy,  leaving  him  without  maternal  care  or  advice, 
we  can  see  much  in  his  circumstances  and  heredi 
tary  disposition  to  account  for  his  crimes.  Not 
enough,  however,  to  lead  the  public  to  believe  that 
he  was  actually  insane.  He  was  a  great  annoyance 
and  disgrace  to  his  family,  and  none  felt  the  shame 
more  keenly,  or  denounced  the  crime  more  strongly, 
than  did  those  who  lived  to  hear  of  his  terrible 
crime. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       345 

The  day  after  the  inauguration,  Guiteau  called  at 
the  White  House  to  see  President  Garfield,  but  did 
not  find  him  there.  He  then  wrote  to  the  President, 
asking  an  interview,  to  which  he  received  no  reply. 
He  then  followed  the  President  closely,  wherever  he 
went,  and  stood  outside  for  hours  and  watched  the 
houses  where  the  President  called,  waiting  for  a 
chance  to  press  his  suit  for  an  office.  Again  and 
again  he  intruded  himself  upon  the  President,  who, 
after  becoming  convinced  of  the  man's  unfitness  for 
official  position,  frankly  refused  to  grant  the  petition. 
Guiteau  was  very  angry,  and  refused  to  be  satisfied 
with  two  or  three  denials  ;  and  at  last  he  became 
so  insulting  in  his  demeanor  that  the  President, 
after  a  most  remarkable  display  of  patience,  ordered 
the  officers  at  the  White  House  to  expel  the  intruder, 
and  refuse  him  admittance  should  he  attempt  to  enter 
again. 

Mortified  at  his  failure  to  obtain  the  coveted  ap 
pointment,  and  angry  beyond  expression  because  of 
his  forcible  ejection  from  the  White  House,  he  deter 
mined  to  have  revenge.  Various  schemes  suggested 
themselves  to  him,  according  to  his  own  confession, 
which  would  bring  disgrace  and  failure  upon  the  ad 
ministration  and  shame  upon  the  President,  but  none 
would  or  could  satisfy  him  but  the  murder  of  General 
Garfield. 

While  he  was  nursing  his  wrath  and  pushing  his 
courage  up  to  the  point  where  he  could  perform  the 
deed,  a  circumstance  occurred  which  encouraged  him 


346     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

to  think  that  the  murder  might  be  committed  safely, 
and  even  be  regarded  by  many  as  a  blessing. 

A  foolish  and  surprisingly  bitter  quarrel  arose  be 
tween  the  President  and  Senator  Roscoe  Conkling, 
the  latter  being  a  very  influential  man  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  one  very  much  respected  and 
honored  throughout  the  country.  The  senator  de 
sired  to  control  the  appointments  made  by  the  Pres 
ident  in  New  York  State,  and' felt  that  it  was  due  to 
him  for  his  active  support  of  the  Republican  party 
and  General  Garfield,  after  the  defeat  of  his  friend, 
General  Grant,  in  the  convention  at  Chicago.  He 
also  entertained  the  theory  that  the  President  ought 
to  consult  the  senators  from  each  State  before  mak 
ing  appointments  to  Federal  offices  in  that  State. 
Hence,  when  President  Garfield,  without  consulta 
tion  with  Senator  Conkling,  sent  in  to  the  Senate  for 
confirmation  the  name  of  Judge  Robertson,  of  New 
York,  to  be  collector  of  that  port,  the  senator  was 
angry.  The  appointment  in  that  manner  of  one  who 
was  personally  opposed  to  him,  was  regarded  by  the 
senator  as  an  act  of  open  hostility,  notwithstanding 
the  President,  at  the  same  time,  sent  in  a  list  of  ap 
pointments  containing  many  of  the  political  support 
ers  of  the  senator. 

The  senator  did  not  conceal  his  anger,  and  his 
attack  upon  the  President  was  harsh,  hasty,  and  un 
becoming  a 'man  of  his  ability  or  position.  The  Pres 
ident  felt  that  the  opposition  was  causeless  and  spite- 
ful,  and,  looking  at  the  matter  unbiased  by  the  human 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  347 

tendency  to  excuse  everything  when  a  man  is  dead, 
it  must  be  said,  acted  unwisely  in  noticing  the  sen-, 
ator's  opposition.  The  President,  losing  for  a  mo 
ment  that  dignity,  caution,  and  charity  which  made 
his  character  so  grand  and  conspicuous,  sent  a  mes 
sage  to  the  Senate  withdrawing  the  appointment  of 
Senator  Conkling's  friends,  leaving  the  Senate  to 
safely  conclude  that,  unless  the  appointment  of 
Judge  Robertson  was  confirmed,  none  of  Senator 
Conkling's  supporters  would  be  appointed  to  office. 
It  was  a  contest  the  nation  was  ashamed  of.  and  one 
illustrating  the  weakness  and  dangers  of  the  civil  serv 
ice  system  which  General  Garfield  himself  was  try 
ing  heroically  to  reform. 

Senator  Conkling  tried  for  a  few  days  to  induce 
the  Senate  to  reject  Judge  Robertson,  but  finding 
that  body  determined  to  support  the  President,  he 
sent  in  his  resignation,  and  induced  his  colleague, 
Senator  Platt,  of  New  York,  to  do  the  same  foolish 
thing.  Both  of  the  senators  tried  to  get  the  New 
York  Legislature  to  indorse  their  action  by  a  reelec 
tion,  but  met  with  an  ignominious  failure. 

The  whole  contest  was  one  of  those  unaccounta 
bly  silly  quarrels  which  sometimes  cloud  the  pages 
of  history,  in  confirmation  of  the  Scripture  saying 
that  "  great  men  are  not  always  wise."  Out  of  such 
a  battle  neither  of  the  warriors  could  come  unscathed. 
It  stirred  up  the  whole  nation  ;  created  antagonisms ; 
encouraged  enmities  ;  injured  the  public  business ; 
created  a  distrust  of  our  institutions,  tending  to  hin- 


348     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

der  prosperity,  and  all  on  account  of  petty,  personal 
spite  and  unconsidered  willfulness. 

In  that  unexpected  tempest,  Guiteau  found  much 
encouragement.  He  believed  that  if  he  could  wreak 
his  vengeance  at  such  a  time  he  would  have  the  sym 
pathy  and  support  of  the  President's  political  ene 
mies.  Although  they  never  knew  Guiteau  or  com 
municated  with  him,  and  never  said  aught  to  show 
the  slightest  sympathy  with  such  a  horrible  idea, 
yet  he  was  angry  enough  to  entertain  the  idea  that 
they  would  come  to  his  relief,  especially  as  the  Vice- 
President,  who  would  be  promoted,  was  the  most 
intimate  supporter  and  outspoken  sympathizer  with 
Senator  Conkling.  How  unfounded  and  unreasona 
ble  were  his  conclusions  was  subsequently  demon 
strated. 

Arming  himself  with  a  heavy  revolver,  he  deter 
mined  to  obtain  his  revenge  by  shooting  the  Presi 
dent.  He  had  a  hard  task  to  overcome  the  remon 
strances  of  his  own  heart.  Again  and  again  he 
started  to  do  the  deed,  and  crept  back  a  coward  be 
fore  his  own  conscience. 

"  Conscience  doth  make  cowards  of  us  all." 

Once  he  followed  the  President  from  the  White 
House  to  the  residence  of  Secretary  Elaine,  dodging 
along  from  dark  corners  and  skulking  by  stone  bal 
ustrades  ;  and  the  peaceful,  confident  Head  of  the  na 
tion  walked  cheerfully  by  those  hiding  places,  and 
Guiteau,  with  his  revolver  cocked,  could  not  muster 
the  strength  to  pull  the  trigger. 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       349 

Once  the  assassin  thought  he  was  sure  his  con 
science  was  stifled,  and  followed  the  President's  car 
riage  to  the  railway  station,  determined  to  delay  the 
deed  no  longer  ;  but  when"  the  affectionate  husband 
lifted  his  wife  from  the  carriage,  and  Guiteau  saw  her 
thin  hands  and  pale,  sweet  face,  he  was  defeated 
again  ;  and,  stuffing  his  revolver  in  his  pocket,  said, 
"  I  '11  wait  till  she  is  better." 

He  pondered  over  the  matter,  making  careful  cal 
culations  on  the  effect  of  the  President's  death,  and 
planned  how  to  avoid  the  rage  of  the  mob  which  the 
murder  would  be  likely  to  raise.  He  wrote  a  letter 
beforehand  to  General  Sherman,  to  be  delivered  to 
him  at  once  after  the  murder,  asking  for  troops  to 
protect  him  at  the  jail. 

On  Friday,  the  first  day  of  July,  Guiteau  saw  by 
the  papers  that  the  President  intended  to  take  the 
train  for  New  York  the  next  morning,  and  again 
determined  to  secure  his  revenge ;  and  appears  to 
have  passed  much  of  the  night  in  perfecting  his 
plans.  In  the  morning  of  Saturday,  July  2d,  he 
loaded  his  revolver,  hired  a  hack  to  take  him  hastily 
from  the  station  after  he  should  have  killed  his  vic 
tim,  and  placed  himself  near  the  entrance  to  the  Bal 
timore  Railroad  waiting-room,  thinking  to  kill  the 
President  there. 

Soon  after  the  assassin  had  taken  his  post  at  the 
door,  President  Garfield  and  Secretary  Elaine  alighted 
from  their  carriage,  and  for  five  minutes  stood  close 
to  Guiteau,  engaged  in  conversation.  But  he  was 


35O     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

having  another  struggle  in  attempting  to  deaden  the 
voice  of  God  within  him,  and  could  not  shoot  then. 
But  the  sudden  call  of  the  conductor,  "  All  aboard !  " 
and  the  quick  movements'  of  the  passengers  in  the 
station,  enabled  him  to  throw  off  the  spell,  and  with 
a  satanic  desperation  and  horrible  impulse  he  turned 
as  the  President  passed  him  and  fired  the  first  shot. 
He  was  so  close  to  his  victim  that  he  saw  his  aim 
had  not  been  true,  and  as  the  startled  President 
leaped  one  side  the  assassin  took  a  surer  aim,  and 
fired  the  second  time,  with  deadly  effect.  The  second 
bullet  entered  the  President's  side,  tore'  through  the 
spine,  and  remained  lodged  in  the  flesh. 

The  horrified  spectators  rushed  to  the  wounded 
man,  seized  the  assassin,  and  for  a  time  there  was  the 
greatest  confusion  and  terror.  But  soon  the  doors 
were  shut  to  keep  out  the  excited  crowd,  surgical  aid 
called  for  the  President,  and  the  assassin  hurried 
away  to  the  jail. 

The  surgeons  called  to  aid  the  President  declared 
at  once  that  the  shot  must  be  fatal,  and  ordered  the 
fainting  and  bleeding  man  carried  by  ambulance  to 
the  White  House. 

The  awful  calamity  was  instantly  made  known  to 
the  people  of  the  nation  by  telegraph ;  and  Mrs.  Gar- 
field,  who  awaited  her  husband  at  Long  Branch,  in 
stead  of  seeing  his  face,  was  met  by  the  news  of  his 
assassination.  Millions  of  people  wept  that  day. 

"  This  Duncan 

Has  borne  his  faculties  so  meek,  hath  been 
So  clear  in  his  great  office,  that  his  virtues 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       35  I 

Will  plead  like  angels,  trumpet-tongued,  against 
The  deep  damnation  of  his  taking  off." 

"  The  tyrannous  and  bloody  act  is  done  ; 
The  most  arch  deed  of  piteous  massacre 
That  ever  yet  this  land  was  guilty  of." 

At  once  the  great  heart  of  the  nation  beat  quick 
with  sympathy,  and  whatever  of  jealousy,  hate,  oppo 
sition,  or  dislike  had  existed  in  the  hearts  of  men  was 
dispelled  by  the  presence  of  sincere  sorrow.  His 
most  bitter  opponents  sent  promptly  their  messages 
of  sympathy,  and  thousands  of  messages  from  offi 
cers,  statesmen,  governors,  ambassadors,  queens,  em 
perors,  and  kings,  accumulated  in  great  piles  at  the 
White  House.  The  whole  world  felt  the  shock,  and 
with  a  unanimity  never  known  before  expressed 
their  detestation  of  the  horrible  deed. 

The  most  skillful  physicians  of  the  country  —  in 
cluding  Dr.  Bliss,  Dr.  Agnew,  and  Dr.  Hamilton  — 
were  called  to  Washington  ;  Mrs.  Garfield  was  taken 
by  a  special  train  to  her  husband  ;  and  every  appli 
ance  which  human  skill  has  invented,  and  which  could 
give  any  relief  or  hope,  was  immediately  brought  into 
use. 

The  physicians  gave  some  encouragement  that  the 
President  could  possibly  recover  ;  and  for  eighty  long 
days  and  nights  the  nation  eagerly  scanned  every 
bulletin  from  the  physicians  with  almost  breathless 
suspense. 

The  Cabinet  officers  remained  in  attendance  on  the 
wounded  President,  —  some  of  them  laying  aside  for 


352     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

the  time  their  port-folios  to  take  up  the  merciful  task 
of  watching  and  nursing  at  the  bedside.  As  day 
after  day  of  his  sufferings  passed,  the  anxious  people 
felt  more  and  more  the  greatness  of  their  loss,  and 
as  they  heard  day  by  day  his  expressions  of  Chris 
tian  resignation  and  trust  their  love  for  him  grew 
strong  and  pure. 

The  devotion  of  Mrs.  Garfield  and  the  affection 
of  the  mother  and  children  became  themes  for  poets 
and  essayists.  The  purity  of  character  and  heroism 
of  the  wife  were  so  touching,  so  sublime,  that  she 
became  a  loved  sister  or  daughter  to  all  the  people. 
She  was  enshrined  in  their  hearts  by  her  saintly  for 
titude,  until  day  by  day  her  every  movement  and 
every  word  was  treasured  as  a  revelation. 

The  bond  of  a  common  grief  united  the  people 
with  each  other,  and  the  sufferings  of  the  afflicted 
President  and  his  wife  at  Washington  lifted  the 
American  people  into  a  purer  sphere,  and  cemented 
in  love  the  bands  of  friendship  and  concord  which 
no  statesmanship  could  have  accomplished. 

His  dear  old  mother  at  his  home  in  Ohio  sent  him 
her  messages  of  love  and  encouragement  in  such  a 
holy  and  tender  manner  as  to  melt  the  hardest 
heart. 

When  the  world  saw  how  uncomplainingly  he  could 
suffer,  and  when  they  knew  of  his  charity  even  for 
the  assassin,  they  recognized  in  General  Garfield  a 
purity,  nobility,  and  heroism  they  would  not  other 
wise  have  seen.  Then  the  public  felt  with  regard  to 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      353 

him  as  it  should  feel  toward  others :  "  We  did  not  ap 
preciate  him  until  too  late." 

Meanwhile,  the  assassin,  almost  boasting  of  his 
crime  and  waiting  for  the  death,  eagerly  inquired 
every  day  for  the  news.  He  declared  that  it  was  for 
the  good  of  the  nation  that  he  committed  the  deed, 
and  pretended  to  pray  for  the  people.  His  prison 
was  guarded  by  police  and  soldiers  to  protect  him 
from  the  mob,  for  the  people  regarded  him  and  his 
act  in  almost  a  frenzy  of  rage. 

Even  one  of  the  sentinels  set  to  guard  him  at 
tempted  to  shoot  him,  and  but  for  the  bar  of  iron  on 
his  cell  would  have  succeeded.  The  ball  grazed 
Guiteau's  head.  That  unlawful  attempt  on  his  life 
tended  to  make  the  murderer  change  his  demeanor, 
and  from  that  time  on  the  fear  of  death  was  so  great 
that  every  footstep  in  the  corridor  startled  him,  and 
when  told  that  the  President  was  dying  his  seared 
conscience  assumed  again  its  sceptre,  and  made  him 
crouch  and  cower,  and  call  on  God  and  man  for 
mercy. 

23 


354     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

DEATH   AND    BURIAL. 

BEMOVAL  TO  LONG  BRANCH.  —  VIEW  OF  THE  SEA.  —  THE  LAST  DAT  Of 
LIFE. — SUDDEN  DEATH. — THE  GRIEF  OF  THE  WORLD. — THE  FUNE 
RAL  TRAIN. —  IN  THE  ROTUNDA  AT  THE  CAPITOL.  —  THE  CEREMONIES 
AT  WASHINGTON.  —  THK  ADDRESSES.  —  TRIBUTE  FROM  QUEEN  VIC 
TORIA. —  KEMOVAL  OF  THE  BODY  TO  CLEVELAND.  —  LAST  RITKS. — 
THK  PROCESSION.— THE  LAST  ADDRESS.  —  RETURN  OF  MOURNERS. 

WHEN  the  President  had  lingered  and  suffered  at 
the  White  House  for  more  than  two  months,  holding 
on  to  life  with  an  almost  miraculous  tenacity,  and 
suffering  incessantly  the  acutest  pain,  a  council  of 
noted  physicians  was  called  to  consider  the  advisa 
bility  of  removing  him  from  the  heat  and  malaria  of 
Washington.  He  had  lost  more  than  one  hundred 
pounds  in  weight,  and  had  become  so  weak  that  it 
did  not  seem  possible  that,  without  a  change,  he  could 
survive  many  days.  He  longed  to  get  away  from  the 
place  in  which  he  had  suffered  so  much,  and  as  there 
seemed  no  hope  for  him  there,  the  physicians  con 
sented  to  undertake  his  removal  to  Long  Branch,  on 
the  New  Jersey  shore. 

His  removal  for  so  many  hundred  miles  in  his  dan 
gerously  low  state  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  355 

feats  of  these  modern  days.  The  railroad  company 
laid  a  track  to  the  White  House,  in  Washington,  and 
another  track  to  the  cottage  which  kind  friends  fur 
nished  for  him  "at  the  shore ;  so  that  he  was  taken 
frc  m  door  to  door  in  an  elegant,  comfortable,  and  com 
modious  car,  and  carried  from  the  house  to  the  car, 
and  from  the  car  to  the  seaside  cottage,  without  suf 
ficient  commotion  or  movement  of  his  couch  to  cause 
any  perceptible  increase  of  his  pulse.  Although  he 
exhibited  signs  of  exhaustion  the  next  day,  he  did 
not  attribute  it  to  the  journey  as  much  as  to  the  ex 
citement  and  pleasure  of  being  in  a  new  place  and 
amid  new  scenes. 

The  success  of  his  removal  gave  fresh  hope  to  the 
nation,  —  which  had  set  apart,  and  observed  sacredly, 
a  day  of  prayer  for  him,  —  and  Mrs.  Garfield  felt 
greatly  encouraged.  Especially  hopeful  was  she 
when  she  found;  a  few  days  after,  that  he  was  able 
to  lie  in  a  reclining-chair  and  look  out  upon  the  beau 
tiful  sea.  It  was  a  delight  to  all  his  attendants  to  see 
him  as  his  countenance  lit  up  with  pleasure,  saying, 
"Oh,  the  beautiful  sea!" 

But  he  often  mentioned  his  strong  desire  to  be 
back  in  his  "  Lawnfield  "  home  at  Mentor,  and  some 
times  he  yearned,  with  an  indescribable  sense  of 
homesickness,  to  see  his  home  and  his  mother.  Oh, 
how  shallow  and  vain  the  fame  of  human  greatness 
appeared  to  him  then,  and  how  much  dearer  and 
sweeter  than  aught  else  seemed  a  peaceful  domestic 
life  !  In  his  dreams  he  saw  his  old  schoolmates  and 


356     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

friends.  In  those  hours  when  his  mind  wandered, 
breaking  away  from  its  crushing  load  of  pain,  he 
would  talk  of  his  cousin  Henry,  his  uncle  Thomas, 
his  brother  and  his  sisters,  and  of  his  mother,  as  if  it 
were  but  a  day  since  his  mother's  home  was  broken 
up.  How  insignificant,  after  all,  is  all  the  pomp,  pa 
rade,  and  honors  of  a  public  life  to  one  who  loves  his 
wife,  his  children,  and  his  home !  Ah,  yes,  as  Mrs. 
Garfield  foresaw,  his  election,  while  a  great  gain  to 
the  nation,  was  a  calamity  to  them  ! 

On  Monday,  September  iQth,  the  symptoms  of  the 
President's  case  were  very  discouraging,  and  nearly 
every  one  about  him  abandoned  all  hope  of  recovery. 
But  he  had  held  out  so  long,  the  blood-poisoning, 
caused  by  the  absorption  into  the  system  of  the  dis 
charge  from  the  wound  had  been  so  insidious  and 
slow,  that  no  one  looked  for  his  immediate  death. 
But  the  gloomy  presentiment  was  so  strong  upon  the 
inmates  of  the  cottage  that  they  involuntarily  began 
to  mourn  for  him  as  one  dead.  An  eye-witness  re 
lated  an  incident  which  well  illustrates  the  situation 
that  day  :  — 

Late  in  the  morning  the  President  expressed  a 
wish  to  see  his  daughter  Mollie.  When  the  child 
went  into  the  room  she  kissed  her  father,  and  told 
him  that  she  was  glad  to  see  that  he  was  looking  so 
much  better.  He  said  :  — 

"  You  think  I  do  look  better,  Mollie  ?  " 

She  said  :  "  I  do,  papa,"  and  then  she  took  a  chair 
and  sat  near  the  foot  of  the  bed. 

A  moment  or  two  after,  Dr.  Boynton  noticed  that 


FOIMKAIT  OF  HIS  MOTHER 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       357 

she  was  swaying  in  her  chair.  He  stepped  up  to  her, 
but  before  he  could  reach  her  she  had  fallen  over  in 
a  dead  faint.  In  falling,  her  face  struck  against  the 
bedpost,  and  when  they  raised  her  from  the  floor  she 
was  not  only  unconscious,  but  also  bleeding  from  the 
contusion  she  had  received.  They  carried  her  out, 
and  she  speedily  recovered.  The  President,  they 
thought,  had  not  noticed  what  had  happened  to  his 
petted  child,  for  he  seemed  to  have  sunk  into  a  stu 
por  ;  but  when  Dr.  Boynton  came  back  into  the  room, 
he  was  astonished  to  hear  the  President  say  :  — 

"  Poor  little  Mollie,  she  fell  over  like  a  log.  What 
was  the  matter  ?  " 

They  assured  the  President  that  she  was  quite  re 
stored.  He  again  sank  into  a  stupor  or  sleep,  which 
lasted  until  the  noon  examination. 

In  the  evening,  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  Mrs. 
Garfield  was  alone  with  her  husband  for  some  time, 
the  first  time  for  many  days  ;  but  when  other  persons 
came  into  the  room,  and  Mrs.  Garfield  retired,  she 
felt  that  he  was  going  to  have  a  very  comfortable 
night.  Not  a  thought  that  in  a  few  brief  moments 
the  President  would  be  out  of  suffering  crossed  her 
mind.  When  he  dropped  off  to  sleep,  he  said  he  was 
feeling  very  comfortable. 

Within  ten  minutes  afterwards  the  President  said,  in 
agonizing  tones,  to  General  Swaim,  who  had  watc-hed 
with  him  throughout  his  entire  sickness  :  "  O  Swaim  ! 
Swaim  !  I  am  in  terrible  agony ;  can't  you  do  some 
thing  to  relieve  me  ?  Oh  my  heart !  the  terrible 
pain  ! " 

General  Swaim  hurriedly  crossed  tKe  hall  and 
called  Dr.  Bliss,  who  was  preparing  his  report  of  the 


THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

case  during  the  day.  Although  not  a  minute  elapsed 
before  he  was  at  the  President's  side,  the  moment  he 
saw  the  features  he  remarked  that  death  had  claimed 
its  own.  There  was  no  pulse,  and  by  putting  his  ear 
down  he  was  enabled  to  distinguish  a  very  slight 
beating  of  the  heart.  Mrs.  Garfield  was  hastily  sum 
moned,  and  the  other  occupants  of  the  cottage.  The 
scene  was  a  sad  one.  The  look  of  agony  on  the  face 
of  Mrs.  Garfield,  as  she  reached  her  husband's  bed 
side,  and  took  hold  of  his  hands,  and  realized  that 
life  was  on  its  flight,  will  never  fade  from  the  minds 
of  those  present. 

Miss  Mollie  Garfield,  General  Swaim,  Colonel 
Rockwell,  O.  C.  Rockwell,  Mrs.  Rockwell,  Private 
Secretary  Brown,  Mr.  Warren  Young,  Dr.  Bliss,  Dr. 
Agnew,  and  Dr.  Boynton  stood  about  the  bedside  as 
life  fled. 

The  scene  was  affecting  in  the  extreme,  but  Mrs. 
Garfield  bore  up  under  the  terrible  affliction  with 
the  wonderful  fortitude  she  had  all  along  exhibited. 

There  she  sat,  a  heart-stricken  woman,  full  of  grief, 
but  with  too  much  Christian  courage  to  exhibit  it  to 
those  about  her.  She,  of  course,  was  laboring  under 
a  terrible  strain,  and,  despite  her  efforts,  tears  flowed 
from  her  eyes,  and  her  lips  became  drawn  by  her  at 
tempt  to  bear  the  burden  with  which  she  had  been 
afflicted.  Miss  Mollie  was  naturally  greatly  affected, 
and  bursts  of  tears  flowed  from  the  child's  eyes,  not 
withstanding  her  noble  effort  to  follow  the  example 
of  her  mother.  The  death  scene  was  one  never  to 
be  forgotten. 


Guour  OF  HJS  FIVE  CHILDREN. 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  359 

At  his  bedside,  holding  his  poor,  emaciated  hand 
in  her  own,  and  watching  with  an  anguish  unutter 
able  the  fast-vanishing  sands  of  life,  sat  the  faithful, 
devoted  wife  during  the  closing  hours  of  the  Pres 
ident's  career.  Around  him  were  other  weeping 
friends  and  physicians,  lamenting  their  powerless- 
ness  in  the  presence  of  the  dark  angel  of  death. 
Toward  the  last  the  mind  of  the  sufferer  wandered. 
He  was  once  more  back  in.  Mentor,  amid  those  scenes 
where  the  happiest  hours  of  his  life  were  spent.  He 
sat  in  the  dear  old  homestead  again,  with  the  loved 
ones  around  him  :  the  aged  mother,  so  proud  of  her 
big  boy,  the  faithful  wife,  the  beloved  children.  It 
was  a  blissful  dream,  that  robbed  death  of  its  terrors, 
and  rendered  the  dying  man  for  the  moment  uncon 
scious  of  the  cruel  rending  of  his  once  vigorous 
frame  that  was  constantly  going  on.  The  moan  of 
the  restless  ocean  mingled  with  the  sobs  of  the  loved 
ones  as  the  lamp  of  life  went  out  forever. 

Within  an  hour  the  terrible  news  was  known  in 
every  city  of  the  country,  and  everywhere  the  sol 
emn  toll  of  church  and  fire  bells  told  the  awakening 
people  in  their  beds  that  their  beloved  President  was 
dead.  Never  did  people  more  sincerely  mourn  than 
did  those  of  the  American  nation  when  General 
Garfield's  life  went  out  in  cruel  pain  :  — 

w  This  is  the  very  top, 

The  height,  the  crest,  or  crest  unto  the  crest, 
Of  murder's  arms  :  this  is  the  bloodiest,  shame, 
The  wildest  savagery,  the  vilest  stroke, 
That  ever  wall-eyed  wrath  or  staring  rage 
Presented  to  the  tears  of  soft  remorse. 


360     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,   AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

All  murders  past  do  stand  excused  in  this  ; 
And  this,  so  sole  and  so  unmatchable, 
Shall  give  a  holiness,  a  purity, 
To  the  yet  unbegotten  sin  of  times ; 
And  prove  a  deadly  bloodshed  but  a  jest 
Exampled  by  this  heinous  spectacle." 

Everywhere  there  was  weeping,  and  the  messages 
of  condolence  which  came  to  Mrs.  Garfield  were  as 
sincere  as  they  were  numerous. 

One  of  the  first  received  was  from  the  Queen  of 
England,  and  read  as  follows  :  — 

BALMORAL. 

Words  cannot  express  the  deep  sympathy  I  feel 
with  you.  May  God  support  and  comfort  you,  as  He 
alone  can. 

(Signed)  THE  QUEEN. 

Towns,  cities,  and  states,  republics  and  kingdoms, 
including  nearly  every  nation  on  earth,  sent  their 
messages  of  sympathy.  The  exhibition  of  a  grief  so 
world-wide  was  a  sublime  event,  and  something  new 
in  the  world's  history. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  death  was  for  some 
time  a  matter  of  dispute  among  physicians ;  but  those 
who  were  in  charge  of  President  Garfield's  case,  both 
at  Washington  and  after  his  removal  to  Long  Bran-ch, 
assisted  by  Dr.  Andrew  H.  Smith,  of  Elberon,  and 
Dr.  D.  S.  Lamb,  of  the  Army  Medical  Museum  at 
Washington,  made  a  post-mortem  examination  of  the 
deceased  President's  body,  at  Long  Branch,  the  next 
day  after  his  death.  The  operation  was  performed 
by  Dr.  Lamb,  and  it  was  found  that  the  ball,  after 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       361 

fracturing  the  right  eleventh  rib,  had  passed  through 
the  spinal  column  in  front  of  the  spinal  canal,  fract 
uring  the  body  of  the  first  lumbar  vertebrae,  driving 
a  number  of  small  fragments  of  bone  into  the  adja 
cent  soft  parts,  and  lodging  just  below  the  pancreas, 
about  two  inches  and  a  half  to  the  left  of  the  spine 
and  behind  the  peritoneum,  where  it  had  become 
completely  encysted.  The  immediate  cause  of  death 
was  secondary  hemorrhage  from  one  of  the  mesenteric 
arteries  adjoining  the  track  of  the  ball,  the  blood 
rupturing  the  peritoneum,  and  nearly  a  pint  escaping 
into  the  abdominal  cavity.  This  hemorrhage  is  be 
lieved  to  have  been  the  cause  of  the  severe  pain  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  chest,  complained  of  just  before 
death.  An  abscess  cavity,  six  inches  by  four  in  di 
mensions,  was  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  gall  blad 
der,  between  the  liver  and  the  transverse  colon,  which 
were  strongly  inter-adherent.  It  did  not  involve  the 
substance  of  the  liver,  and  no  communication  was 
found  between  it  and  the  wound.  A  long  suppurat 
ing  channel  extended  from  the  external  wound,  be 
tween  the  loin  muscles  and  the  right  kidney,  almost 
to  the  right  groin.  This  channel,  now  known  to  be 
due  to  the  burrowing  of  pus  from  the  wound,  was  sup 
posed  during  life  to  have  been  the  track  of  the  ball. 
On  an  examination  of  the  organs  of  the  chest,  evi 
dences  of  severe  bronchitis  were  found  on  both  sides, 
with  broncho-pneumonia  of  the  lower  portions  of  the 
right  lung,  and,  though  to  much  Jess  extent,  of  the 
left.  The  lungs  contained  no  abscesses,  and  the  heart 


362     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

no  clots.  The  liver  was  enlarged  and  fatty,  but  free 
from  abscesses.  Nor  were  any  found  in  any  other 
organ  except  the  left  kidney,  which  contained  near 
its  surface  a  small  abscess,  about  one  third  of  an  inch 
in  diameter.  In  reviewing  the  history  of  the  case 
in  connection  with  the  autopsy,  it  is  quite  evident 
that  the  different  suppurating  surfaces,  and  especially 
the  fractured  spongy  tissue  of  the  vertebrae,  furnish 
a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  septic  condition  which 
existed. 

The  official  report  was  signed  by  the  following- 
named  surgeons :  D.  W.  Bliss,  J.  K.  Barnes,  J.  J. 
Woodward,  Robert  Reyburn,  Frank  H.  Hamilton,  D. 
Hayes  Agnew,  Andrew  H.  Smith,  D.  S.  Lamb. 

The  preparations  for  the  burial,  those  saddest  rites 
which  the  human  heart  has  to  bear  in  this  life,  were 
made  in  accordance  with  Mrs.  Garfield's  desire,  with 
out  ostentation  or  extravagant  expense.  The  coffin 
was  plain  and  substantial,  with  the  simplest  orna 
mentation,  and  the  dresses  of  mourners  and  bearers 
were  less-  costly,  and  made  less  display,  than  those 
seen  at  the  funerals  of  many  private  citizens  of  the 
republic. 

The  Cabinet  felt  that,  as  he  was  peculiarly  the 
friend  of  the  nation,  and  related  to  it  by  such  near 
official  relationship,  there  ought  to  be  a  public  fu 
neral  at  the  Capitol ;  and,  the  friends  of  the  dead  con 
senting  to  such  arrangement,  the  body  was  taken  to 
Washington  on  Wednesday  after  the  President's 
death.  The  railroad  along  the  route  of  the  funeral 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       363 

train,  from  Long  Branch  to  Washington,  was  visited 
by  thousands  of  people,  who,  with  uncovered  heads 
or  in  a  kneeling  position,  watched  the  train  as  it 
swept  by. 

At  the  stations  in  the  large  cities  immense  throngs, 
numbering  fifty  thousand  or  more,  gathered,  and  as 
the  train  with  its  sombre  decorations  came  in  sight 
the  crowds  wept  in  grief-stricken  silence.  In  Wash 
ington  every  person  able  to  be  in  the  streets,  white 
and  black,  appeared  to  have  joined  the  mourning 
multitude  assembled  to  show  their  respect  and  sym 
pathy. 

The  body  was  taken  at  once  to  the  Capitol,  and 
placed  in  the  centre  of  that  great  rotunda  where  he 
met  the  gaze  of  the  acclaiming  multitude  at  his  in 
auguration  but  a  few  months  before. 

For  two  days  the  body  lay  in  state  at  the  Capitol, 
and  was  viewed  by  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
people. 

Once  the  crowd  was  shut  out,  and  the  guards  re 
moved  from  the  rotunda,  and  Mrs.  Garfield  was  left 
alone  for  an  hour  with  her  precious  dead.  In  that 
great  circular  hall  that  rose  to  such  a  height,  where 
art  and  science  have  striven  together  to  add  to  its 
grandeur,  where  every  whisper  or  sob  echoes  with 
weird  distinctness,  the  lonely  widow  kept  her  sad 
vigil.  Sacred  hour!  when  the  stricken  heart  sits 
alone  with  its  dead  and  its  God ! 

The  floral  decorations  about  the  coffin  were  of 
the  most  elegant  description,  yet  so  chaste  and  plain 


364     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

as  to  present  a  most  touching  scene.  A  most  ex 
quisite  specimen  of  the  florist's  art  was  contributed 
by  the  British  minister  by  special  order  of  Queen 
Victoria,  and  bore  a  card  with  the  following  inscrip 
tion  :  — 

Queen  Victoria  to  the  memory  of  the  late  Pres 
ident  Garfield.  An  expression  of  her  sorrow  and, 
sympathy  with  Mrs.  Garfield  and  the  American  na 
tion. 

September  22,  1881. 

The  funeral  services  were  very  simple  and  uncer 
emonious,  and  in  accordance  with  the  usual  funeral 
customs  of  the  Christian  denomination,  of  which  Gen 
eral  Garfield  had  been  a  member  and  a  preacher.  The 
account  of  them  given  by  an  eye-witness  was  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

At  2.40  P.  M.  Colonel  Rockwell,  Dr.  Boynton,  Pri 
vate  Secretary  Brown,  Messrs.  Judd,  Pruden,  War 
ren  Young,  Hendley,  and  Duke,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bol- 
ney,  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Corbin,  Mrs.  Pruden,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Montgomery  and  Mrs.  Dean,  representing  the 
household  of  the  late  President,  entered  the  rotunda 
of  the  Capitol,  and  took  the  seats  reserved  for  them. 
The  members  of  the  House  filed  in  through  the 
south  door,  preceded  by  the  officers  of  that  body  and 
by  ex-Speakers  Randall  and  Banks.  They  were  fol 
lowed  by  the  senators,  Senator  Anthony  leading,  who 
entered  by  the  north  door.  At  three  o'clock  the 
Cabinet  and  distinguished  guests  entered  in  the  fol 
lowing  order:  President  Arthur  and  Secretary  Blaine, 
ex-Presidents  Grant  and  Hayes,  Secretary  and  Mrs. 
Windom,  Secretary  and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  Secretary  and 
Mrs.  Hunt,  Attorney-General  and  Mrs.  MacVeagh, 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       365 

Secretary  Kirkwood  and  Postmaster-General  James, 
and  Generals  Drum  and  Beale,  the  diplomatic  corps, 
the  representatives  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  sena 
tors  and  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Mrs.  Garfield  and  the  children  were  not  present 
at  the  ceremonies. 

Services  were  opened  by  Rev.  Dr.  Powers  promptly 
at  three  o'clock.  He  ascended  the  dais,  and  briefly 
announced  the  opening  hymn,  "  Asleep  in  Jesus, 
blessed  sleep,"  which  was  rendered  by  a  choir  of 
fifty  voices. 

Rev.  Dr.  Rankin  then  ascended  the  raised  plat 
form  at  the  head  of  the  catafalque,  and  read  in  a 
clear,  distinct  voice  the  Scriptural  selections.  Rev. 
Dr.  Isaac  Errett  then  offered  prayer. 

As  the  closing  words  of  the  prayer  died  away,  Rev. 
F.  D.  Powers,  of  the  Vermont  Avenue  Christian 
Church,  of  which  President  Garfield  was  a  member, 
delivered  a  feeling  address. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Powers's  address  Rev. 
J.  G.  Butler  offered  prayer. 

This  closed  the  ceremonies,  and  the  vast  assem 
blage,  with  bowed  heads  and  reverent  mien,  arose 
as  the  casket  containing  the  remains  of  President 
Garfield  was  slowly  borne  from  the  building  in  which 
he  had  gained  so  many  laurels  and  triumphs.  The 
casket  was  followed  by  President  Arthur,  leaning  on 
the  arm  of  Secretary  Elaine,  and  by  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  ro 
tunda  was  nearly  deserted.  During  the  progress  of 
the  ceremonies  the  appearance  of  the  rotunda  was 
solemn  and  impressive.  The  chairs,  of  which  there 
were  three  hundred  in  the  hall,  were  completely  filled, 
while  many  persons  remained  standing  in  the  aisles. 
The  glitter  of  the  uniforms  of  the  army  and  the 
navy  and  the  court  uniforms  of  the  representatives 
of  the  diplomatic  corps  served  to  brighten  to  a  cer- 


366     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

tain  degree  the  solemnity  of  the  scene.  Save  a  little 
confusion  incident  upon  the  seating  of  the  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy,  the  best  of  order  was  preserved 
throughout,  and  no  incident  occurred  to  interrupt 
the  sad  impressiveness  of  the  ceremonies. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  services  the 
floral  decorations  were  all  removed  (Mrs.  Garfield 
having  requested  that  they  be  sent  to  her  home  at 
Mentor)  except  the  beautiful  wreath,  the  gift  of 
Queen  Victoria,  which  had  been  placed  upon  the 
head  of  the  coffin  when  the  lid  was  closed,  and  which, 
when  the  coffin  was  borne  to  the  hearse,  remained 
upon  it  till  the  remains  were  buried.  This  touching 
tribute  of  Queen  Victoria  greatly  moved  Mrs.  Gar- 
field,  as  only  a  woman  can  feel  a  woman's  sympathy 
at  the  time  of  her  greatest  earthly  sorrow. 

The  coffin  having  been  placed  in  the  hearse,  a 
single  gun  was  fired  from  Hanneman's  battery,  the 
Second  Artillery  Band  struck  up  a  funeral  march, 
and  the  procession  moved  in  the  following  order 
around  the  south  front  of  the  Capitol  to  the  avenue  : 
Two  battalions  of  District  of  Columbia  militia,  ten 
companies ;  two  companies  of  United  States  marines, 
four  companies  of  the  United  States  Second  Artil 
lery,  Light  Battery  Company  A,  United  States  Ar 
tillery  ;  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Roscoe  Conk- 
ling  Club,  Boys  in  Blue,  Columbia,  Washington,  and 
DeMolay  Commanderies,  Knights  Templars,  of  this 
city,  in  full  regalia  ;  Beausant  Commandery  Knights 
Templars  of  Baltimore.  Then  came  the  hearse, 
drawn  by  six  iron-gray  horses,  each  led  by  a  colored 
groom  ;  following  the  hearse  came  about  a  hundred 
carriages,  which  were  occupied  by  officers  of  the  Ex 
ecutive  Mansion,  and  wives,  relatives  of  the  late  Pres 
ident,  ex-Presidents  Grant  and  Hayes,  President  Ar 
thur,  and  Secretary  Elaine.  The  other  Cabinet  min 
isters  and  their  wives,  the  diplomatic  corps,  Chief 


OF    GENERAL   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  367 

Justice  Waite,  and  Associate  Justices  Harlan,  Mat 
thews,  and  Miller  ;  senators,  members  of  the  House, 
governors  of  States  and  Territories,  and  commis 
sioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia;  the  jadges  of 
the  Court  of  Claims,  the  judiciary  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  judges  of  the  United  States  courts; 
the  assistant  Secretaries  of  State,  Treasury,  and  In 
terior  departments  ;  the  assistant  postmaster-general, 
the  solicitor-general,  and  the  assistant  attorneys-gen 
eral.  As  the  procession  moved  minute  guns  were 
fired  from  the  military  posts  and  forts  surrounding 
the  city,  and  the  church  bells  were  tolled.  At  least 
40,000  people  were  gathered  about  the  Capitol  to 
witness  the  start  of  the  procession,  while  along  the 
line  of  march  to  Sixth  Street  the  crowd  was  even 
greater  than  on  the  4th  of  March.  Everywhere  it 
was  most  orderly  and  quiet ;  and  as  the  hearse  con 
taining  the  remains  moved  along  the  avenue,  from 
the  very  door  of  the  Capitol  to  the  entrance  of  the 
depot,  all  heads  were  uncovered. 

On  reaching  the  depot  the  military  were  drawn  up 
in  line  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  facing 
the  Sixth  Street  entrance.  The  remains  were  borne 
from  the  hearse  upon  the  shoulders  of  six  soldiers  of 
the  Second  Artillery  and  placed  in  the  funeral  car. 
The  ten  officers  from  the  army  and  navy,  selected  as 
the  guard  of  honor,  stood  with  uncovered  heads  as 
the  remains  were  taken  from  the  hearse,  and  then 
escorted  them  to  the  car. 

Again  the  scenes  of  the  previous  Wednesday  were 
repeated,  and,  as  the  funeral  train  proceeded  on  its 
way  to  Cleveland,  one  almost  unbroken  line  of  peo 
ple,  sometimes  swelling  into  great  seas  of  human  be 
ings,  greeted  the  sad  procession  with  bare  heads, 
tears,  and  sad  faces. 


368      THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

The  funeral  train  arrived  in  Cleveland  on  Satur 
day,  the  24th,  and  the  funeral  at  that  place  was  held 
on  Monday,  the  26th.  An  eye-witness  of  the  tearful 
scenes  of  that  day  gave  the  following  account :  — 

All  that  is  mortal  of  the  late  President  reposes  in 
a  tomb  in  the  beautiful  Lake  View  Cemetery  of 
Cleveland.  To-day  the  last  funeral  rites  were  cele 
brated  in  the  open  air  of  the  public  square,  where 
the  body  has  lain  in  state  since  Saturday. 

The  aged  mother,  the  noble  widow,  the  sons  and 
the  daughter,  and  the  other  relatives  of  General  Gar- 
field,  the  members  of  the  household  of  the  White 
House,  the  friends  who  had  enjoyed  his  love  and 
confidence,  and  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  and 
their  families,  were  seated  around  the  coffin  under 
the  arched  roof  of  the  catafalque,  and  unseen  by  the 
larger  company  on  the  platform.  The  members  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  governors  of 
States  and  other  official  dignitaries  and  committees, 
were  assembled  on  the  platform  in  due  order,  to 
gether  with  the  Marine  Band  and  the  singing  socie 
ties  who  were  to  take  part  in  the  exercises.  All 
faced  toward  the  coffin,  resting  on  its  high  bier.  All 
around  the  square,  looking  on  with  intense  interest, 
although  unable  to  hear  anything  but  the  music,  was 
a  dense  crowd,  completely  filling  the  streets,  and 
numbering  from  twenty  to  forty  thousand. 

Promptly  at  half  past  ten  o'clock  the  ceremonies 
at  the  pavilion  began.  The  immediate  members  of 
the  family  and  near  relatives  and  friends  took  seats 
about  the  casket,  and  at  each  corner  was  stationed 
a  member  of  the  Cleveland  Grays.  Dr.  J.  P.  Robin 
son,  president  of  the  ceremonies,  announced  that  the 
exercises  would  be  opened  by  singing  by  the  Cleve 
land  Vocal  Society  of  the  "  Funeral  Hymn,"  by  Beet 
hoven  ;  whereupon  the  hymn  was  sung  as  follows  :  — 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       369 

"  Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  will  not  deplore  thee, 

Though  sorrow  and  darkness  encompass  the  tomb  ; 
The  Saviour  has  passed  through  its  portals  before  thee, 
And  the  lamp  of  his  love  is  thy  light  through  the  gloom." 

The  Scriptures  were  then  read  by  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Bedell,  of  the  Episcopal  diocese  of  Ohio. 

The  Rev.  Ross  C.  Houghton,  pastor  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  then  offered  prayer. 
After  which  the  Rev.  Isaac  Errett,  of  Cincinnati,  de 
livered  an  eloquent  address,  taking  for  his  text  the 
following  :  — 

"  And  the  archers  shot  King  Josiah,  and  the  king  said  to  his 
servant,  '  Have  me  away,  for  I  am  sore  wounded.'  " 

There  was  never  a  mourning  in  all  the  world  like 
unto  this  mourning.  I  am  not  speaking  extrava 
gantly  when  I  say  —  for  I  am  told  it  is  the  result  of 
calculations  carefully  made  from  such  data  as  are  in 
possession  —  that  certainly  not  less  than  three  hun 
dred  millions  of  the  human  race  share  in  the  sadness 
and  the  lamentations  and  sorrow  and  mourning  that 
belong  to  this  occasion  here  to-day.  It  is  a  chill 
shadow  of  a  fearful  calamity  that  has  extended  itself 
into  every  home  in  all  this  land  and  into  every  heart, 
and  that  has  projected  itself  over  vast  seas  and 
oceans  into  distant  lands,  and  awakened  the  sincerest 
and  profoundest  sympathy  with  us  in  the  hearts  of 
the  good  people  of  the  nations  and  among  all  peo 
ple.  .  .  .  He  passed  all  the  conditions  of  virtuous 
life  between  the  log  cabin  in  Cuyahoga  and  the 
White  House,  and  in  that  wonderful,  rich,  and  va 
ried  experience,  still  moving  up  from  higher  to 
higher,  he  has  touched  every  heart  in  all  this  land 
at  some  point  or  other,  and  he  became  the  repre 
sentative  of  all  hearts  and  lives  in  this  land,  and 
not  only  the  teacher  but  the  interpreter  of  all  vir- 
24 


37O     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

tues  ;  for  he  knew  their  wants  and  he  knew  their 
condition,  and  he  established  legitimate  ties  of 
brotherhood  with  every  man  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact.  I  take  it  that  this  rock  on  which  his  whole 
life  rested,  followed  up  by  the  perpetual  and  endur 
ing  industry  that  marked  his  whole  career,  made  him 
at  once  the  honest  and  the  capable  man  who  invited 
in  every  act  of  his  life,  and  received,  the  confidence 
and  the  love,  the  unbounded  confidence  and  trust 
and  love,  of  all  that  learned  to  know  him.  There  is 
yet  one  other  thing  that  I  ought  to  mention  here. 
There  was  such  an  admirable  harmony  of  all  his 
powers;  there  was  such  a  beautiful  adjustment  of 
the  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  in  his  being ; 
there  was  such  an  equitable  distribution  of  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral  forces,  that  his  nature  looked 
out  every  way  to  get  in  sympathy  with  everything, 
and  found  about  equal  delight  in  all  pursuits  and  all 
studies,  so  that  he  became,  through  his  industry  and 
honest  ambition,  really  encyclopedic.  There  was 
scarce  any  single  chord  that  you  could  touch  to 
which  he  would  not  respond  in  a  way  that  made  you 
know  that  his  hands  had  swept  it  skillfully  long  ago ; 
and  there  was  no  topic  you  could  bring  before  him, 
there  was  no  object  you  could  present  to  him,  that 
you  did  not  wonder  at  the  richness  and  fullness  of 
information  somehow  gathered ;  for  his  eyes  were  al 
ways  open,  and  his  heart  was  always  open,  and  his 
brain  was  ever  busy  and  equally  interested  in  every 
thing.  The  minute  and  the  vast,  the  high  and  the 
low,  in  all  classes  and  creeds  of  men,  he  gathered  up 
that  immense  store  and  that  immense  variety  of  the 
most  valuable  and  practical  knowledge  that  made 
him  a  man,  not  in  one  department,  but  in  all  rounds, 
everywhere  in  his  whole  beautiful  and  symmetrical 
life  and  character. 

But,  my  friends,  the  solemnity  of  this  hour  forbids 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       3/1 

any  further  investigation  in  that  line,  and  further 
detail  of  a  very  remarkable  life.  For  these  details 
you  are  familiar  with,  or,  if  not,  they  will  come  before 
you  through  various  channels  hereafter.  It  is  my 
duty,  in  the  presence  of  the  dead,  and  in  view-  of  all 
the  solemnities  that  rest  upon  us  now  in  a  solemn 
burial-service,  to  call  your  attention  to  the  great  les 
son  taught  to  you,  and  by  which  we  ought  to  become 
wiser  and  purer  and  better  men.  And  I  want  to  say, 
therefore,  that  there  comes  a  voice  from  the  dead  to 
this  entire  nation,  and  not  only  to  the  people,  but  to 
those  in  places  of  trust,  to  our  legislators,  and  our 
governors,  and  our  military  men,  and  our  leaders  of 
party,  and  all  classes  and  creeds  in  the  Union  and  in 
the  States,  as  well  as  to  those  who  dwell  in  humble 
life,  qualified  with  the  dignities  and  privileges  of  cit 
izenship.  The  great  lesson  to  which  I  desire  to  point 
you  can  be  expressed  in  few  words.  James  A.  Gar- 
field  went  through  his  whole  public  life  without  sur 
rendering  for  a  single  moment  his  Christian  integrity, 
his  moral  integrity,  or  his  love  for  the  spiritual.  Com 
ing  into  the  exciting  conflicts  of  political  life  with  a 
nature  capable  as  any  of  feeling  the  force  of  every 
temptation,  with  unlawful  prizes  within  his  reach, 
with  every  inducement  to  surrender  all  his  religious 
faith  and  be  known  as  a  successful  man  of  the  world, 
from  first  to  last  he  has  manfully  adhered  to  his  relig 
ious  convictions.  ...  I  feel  just  at  this  point  that 
we  need  this  lesson,  this  great,  wondrous  land  of 
ours,  this  mighty  nation  in  its  marvelous  upward  ca 
reer,  with  its  ever-increasing  power  opening  its  arms 
to  receive  from  all  lands  people  of  all  languages,  all 
religions,  and  all  conditions,  to  blend  them  with  us, 
to  melt  them  into  a  common  mass,  so  it  becomes 
like  the  Corinthian  brass,  and  in  one  type  of  man 
hood  thus  incorporating  all  the  various  nations  of 
the  earth  in'  one  grand  brotherhood,  presenting  be- 


372     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

fore  the  nations  of  the  world  a  spectacle  of  free 
dom  and  strength  and  prosperity  and  power  beyond 
anything  the  world  has  ever  known.  .  .  .  And  the 
wife,  who  began  with  him  in  young  womanhood, 
has  bravely  kept  step  with  him  right  along  through 
all  his  wondrous  career ;  and  who  has  been  not  only 
his  wife,  but  his  friend  and  his  counselor  through 
all  their  succession  of  prosperities  and  this  increase 
of  influence  and  power ;  and  who,  when  the  day  of 
calamity  came,  was  his  ministering  angel,  his  proph 
etess,  his  priestess,  when  the  circumstances  were 
such  as  to  forbid  ministrations  from  other  hands ; 
speaking  to  him  the  words  of  cheer  which  sus 
tained  him  through  that  long,  fearful  struggle  for 
life,  and  watching  over  him  when  his  dying  vision 
rested  on  her  beloved  form,  and  sought  from  her 
eyes  an  answering  gaze  that  should  speak  when 
words  could  not  speak.  And  the  children,  who  have 
grown  up  to  a  period  that  they  can  remember  all 
that  belonged  to  him,  left  fatherless  in  a  world  like 
this,  yet  surrounded  with  a  nation's  sympathy  and 
with  a  world's  affection,  and  able  to  treasure  in  their 
hearts  its  grand  lessons  of  his  noble  and  wondrous 
life,  may  be  assured  that  the  eyes  of  the  nation  are 
upon  them,  and  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  go  out 
after  them.  While  there  is  much  to  support  and  en 
courage,  it  is  still  a  sad  thing  and  calls  for  our  deep 
est  sympathy  that  they  have  lost  such  a  father,  and 
are  left  to  make  their  way  through  this  rough  world 
without  his  guiding  hand  or  his  wise  counsels.  But 
that  which  makes  this  terrible  to  them  now  is  just 
that  which,  as  the  years  go  by,  will  make  very  sweet 
and  bright  and  joyous  memories  to  fill  all  the  lives  of 
the  coming  years  by  the  very  loss  which  they  deplore, 
and  by  all  the  loving  actions  that  bound  them  in 
blessed  sympathy  in  the  home  circle.  They  will  live 
over  again  ten  thousand  times  all  the  sweet  life  of 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       3/3 

the  past,  and  though  dead  he  will  still  live  with  them, 
and  though  his  tongue  be  dumb  in  the  grave  he  will 
speak  anew  to  them  ten  thousand  beautiful  lessons 
of  love,  and  righteousness,  and  truth.  May  God  in 
his  infinite  mercy  bear  them  in  his  arms  and  bless 
them  as  they  need  in  this  hour  of  thick  darkness, 
and  bear  them  safely  through  what  remains  of  the 
troubles  and  sorrows  of  the  pilgrimage  unto  the 
everlasting  home,  where  there  shall  be  no  more 
death  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more 
pain,  for  the  former  things  shall  have  forever  passed 
away.  We  commit  you,  beloved  friends,  to  the  arms 
and  the  care  of  the  everlasting  Father,  who  has 
promised  to  be  the  God  of  the  widow  and  the  father 
of  the  fatherless  in  his  holy  habitation,  and  whose 
sweet  promise  goes  with  us  through  all  the  dark  and 
stormy  paths  of  life.  "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor 
^orsake  thee." 

I  have  discharged  now  the  solemn  covenant  trust 
reposed  in  me  many  years  ago,  in  harmony  with  a 
friendship  that  has  never  known  a  cloud,  a  confi 
dence  that  has  never  trembled,  and  a  love  that  has 
never  changed.  Farewell,  my  friend  and  brother  ! 
Thou  hast  fought  a  good  fight.  Thou  hast  finished 
thy  course.  Thou  hast  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  thee  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  will  give  to  thee 
in  that  day  ;  and  not  unto  thee  only,  but  unto  all 
them  also  who  love  his  offering. 

The  Rev.  Jabez  Hall  then  read  General  Garfield's 
favorite  hymn,  which  was  beautifully  sung  by  the 
Vocal  Society,  as  follows  :  — 

"  Ho  !  reapers  of  life's  harvest, 

Why  stand  with  rusted  blade 
Until  the  night  draws  round  thee, 
And  day  begins  to  fade  ? 


374     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND   PUBLIC   SERVICES 


Why  stand  ye  idle,  waiting 

For  reapers  more  to  come  ? 
The  golden  morn  is  passing, 
ye  idle,  dumb  ?  " 


Why  sit  ye 

At  11.45  Dr.  Charles  S.  Pomeroy  delivered  the 
final  prayer  and  benediction. 

The  funeral  procession  moved  from  Monumental 
Park  at  five  minutes  before  twelve  o'clock. 

A  succession  of  heavy  showers  so  delayed  the  fu 
neral  procession  that  the  line  had  to  be  broken  be 
fore  it  reached  the  cemetery,  and  forming  in  files  on 
either  side  of  the  avenue  for  nearly  three  miles  the 
military  and  civic  societies  made  way  for  the  funeral 
car.  The  state  militia  were  stationed  at  the  en 
trance  to  the  cemetery,  and  on  either  side  of  the 
driveways  leading  to  the  vault  where,  at  Mrs.  Gar- 
field's  request,  it  was  decided  to  place  the  remains, 
The  steps  to  the  vault  were  carpeted  with  flowers, 
and  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  was  an  anchor 
of  tuberoses  and  a  cross  of  white  smilax  and  ever 
greens.  Festooned  above  it  a  heavy  black  canopy 
was  stretched  over  the  steps  from  which  the  exer 
cises  were  to  be  conducted. 

At  half  past  three  o'clock  the  procession  entered 
the  gateway,  which  was  arched  over  with  black,  with 
appropriate  inscriptions.  In  the  keystone  were  the 
words  "  Come  to  rest  ;  "  on  one  side  were  the  words 
"  Lay  him  to  rest  whom  we  have  learned  to  love," 
on  the  other  "  Lay  him  to  rest  whom  we  have  learned 
to  trust." 

None  of  the  President's  family,  except  two  of  the 


OF    GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  375 

boys,  left  the  carriages  during  the  exercises  at  the 
tomb,  which  occupied  less  than  half  an  hour.  Dr. 
J.  P.  Robinson,  as  president  of  the  day,  opened  the 
exercises  by  introducing  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Jones,  chap 
lain  of  the  forty-second  Ohio  regiment,  which  Gen 
eral  Garfield  commanded.  Mr.  Jones  said  :  — 

Our  illustrious  chief  has  completed  his  journey's 
end, — -a  journey  that  we  must  all  soon  make,  and 
that  in  the  near  future.  Yet  when  I  see  the  grand 
surroundings  of  this  occasion,  I  am  led  to  inquire, 
Was  this  man  the  son  of  the  emperor,  of  the  king, 
that  wore  a  crown  ?  For  in  the  history  of  this  great 
country  there  has  been  nothing  like  this  seen.  Yet,  I 
thought,  perhaps,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  man, 
that  he  was  a  prince,  and  this  was  offered  in  a  man 
ner  after  royalty.  But  this  is  not  an  offering  such  as 
is  made  to  earthly  kings  and  emperors,  though  he 
was  a  prince  and  a  freeman,  the  great  commoner  of 
the  United  States.  Only  a  few  miles  from  where  we 
stand,  less  than  fifty  years  ago,  he  was  born  in  the 
primeval  forests  of  this  State  and  this  country,  and  all 
he  asks  of  you  now  is  a  peaceful  grave  in  the  bosom 
of  the  land  that  gave  him  birth.  I  cannot  speak 
to  you  of  his  wonderful  life  and  works.  Time  for 
bids,  and  history  will  take  care  of  that,  and  your 
children's  children  will  read  of  this  emotion  when  we 
have  passed  away  from  this  earth.  .  .  .  You  brethren 
here  of  the  South,  I  greet  you  to-day,  and  you  breth 
ren  of  the  North,  East,  and  West.  Come,  let  us  lay 
all  our  bitternesses  up  in  the  coffin  of  the  dear  man. 
Let  him  carry  them  with  him  to  the  grave  in  silence. 
Till  the  angels  disturb  the  slumbers  of  the  dead  let 
us  love  each  other  more,  our  country  better.  May 
God  bless  you  and  the  dear  family  ;  and,  as  they  con 
stitute  a  great  family  on  earth,  I  hope  they  will  con- 


376     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

stitute  a  great  family  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
where  I  hope  to  meet  you  all  in  the  end.     Amen. 

After  an  ode  by  Horace,  sung  in  Latin  by  the 
United  German  Singing  Society,  Mr.  Robinson  an 
nounced  the  late  President's  favorite  hymn,  "  Ho, 
reapers  of  life's  harvest,"  which  the  German  vocal 
societies  of  Cleveland  sang  with  marked  effect.  The 
exercises  closed  with  the  benediction  by  President 
Hinsdale,  of  Hiram  College,  and,  reentering  their 
carriages,  the  mourners  drove  hurriedly  back  to  the 
city,  to  avoid  another  shower  which  was  threatened. 
The  military  arid  masonic  escort  left  the  cemetery 
in  the  same  order  in  which  they  entered,  and  kept 
in  line  until  the  catafalque  was  reached,  where  they 
were  dismissed. 

The  following  day  the  sad  family  of  General  Gar- 
field  returned  in  gloom  to  their  home  in  Mentor ; 
there,  secluded  from  the  public  gaze,  to  weep  with 
each  other,  —  a  precious  privilege  to  lovers  of  quiet 
like  them,  who  had  been  in  the  focus  of  the  world's 
gaze  for  so  many  terrible  weeks. 


OF   GENERAL  JAMES    A.    GARFIELD.  377 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

IN    MEMORIAM. 

RETROSPECTIVE  VIEW   OF   HIS  LIFE.  —  THE    SECRET    OF  HIS    GREATNESS. 

—  TRIBUTES  FROM  DISTINGUISHED  MEN.  — INCIDENT  OF  HIS  SICKNESS. 

—  LETTER  WRITTEN  IN  HIS   BOYHOOD.  —  SUBSCRIPTION  FOR  HIS  FAM 
ILY.  —  CLOSING  WORDS. 

As  we  cast  a  retrospective  glance  over  the  life 
which  has  now  become  as  a  whole  a  matter  of  his 
tory,  the  question  presents  itself  to  the  student  of 
the  biography  :  In  what  feature  of  his  character  did 
his  greatness  most  exhibit  itself  ?  Unlike  some  of 
ancient  renown,  and  who  perhaps  would  have  been 
less  renowned  had  they  lived  in  this  critical,  enlight 
ened  century,  General  Garfield  was  not  great  in  all 
directions.  What  strength  may  have  lain  dormant  in 
his  nature,  undeveloped  for  the  lack  of  those  circum 
stances  which  would  exhibit  or  test  them,  cannot  be 
estimated.  Certainly,  neither  in  war,  nor  letters,  nor 
revolutions,  was  he  placed  under  such  fearful  tests 
as  have  been  noted  in  the  history  of  some  other  men 
in  other  countries.  Yet  we  say,  and  ihe  verdict  of 
unbiased  history  will  say,  he  is  counted  rightly  among 
the  great  men  of  his  time. 

Looking,  then,  closely  into  his  character  and  rec- 


3/8     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

ord,  we  should  say  that  the  noblest  characteristic  of 
his  nature  was  his  outspoken,  outacted,  and  unrivaled 
sympathy  with  the  weak.  Without  that  pr.nciple 
deeply  permeating  his  nature  no  man  can  be  either 
noble,  good,  or  great,  in  the  best  sense  of  those 
terms,  and  the  grandest  heroism  of  any  age  has 
found  its  impetus  in  that  disposition. 

When  Jimmy  Garfield  returned  to  his  mother,  in 
hei  old  log  cabin,  because  he  could  not  bear  to  leave 
her  alone,  and  pledged-  himself  to  remain  by  her  as 
her  support,  he  exhibited  in  a  touching  manner  this 
noble  impulse. 

When  James  A.  Garfield,  as  a  school-boy,  spread 
his  strong  hand  and  arm  as  a  protective  shield  to 
the  little  boys  and  girls  which  the  rude  youths  of 
Orange  were  persecuting,  the  nobility  of  his  nature 
came  clearly  into  view. 

When  James,  as  a  student  at  the  Chester  Acad 
emy,  stood  boldly  forth  as  the  champion  of  the  weak 
and  despised  denomination  of  Christians,  against  the 
popular  opinion,  ridicule,  and  the  opposition  of  the 
professors,  and  declared,  "  They  shall  not  want  a  dis 
ciple  while  I  live,"  he  arose  to  a  higher  plane  of  hero 
ism,  and  exhibited  the  true  spirit  of  martyrdom. 

When,  in  the  Ohio  Legislature,  the  cause  of  the 
poor  slave  was  being  bandied  about  in  jokes,  and  the 
"  nigger  "  was  often  mentioned  in  derision,  James  A. 
Garfield  wrote  to  his  colleague,  and  quoted  Burns, 
Baying :  — 

"  A  man  's  a  man  for  a'  that" 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       3/9 

The  greatness  of  his  soul  again  arose  in  view. 

When,  in  that  terrible  and  disastrous  battle  at  Chat 
tanooga,  the  strongest  wing  of  the  Union  army,  under 
the  direct  command  of  Rosecrans  himself,  was  scat 
tered  like  chaff ;  when  panic  and  dismay  were  shown 
in  every  soldier's  pallid  face  ;  when  for  two  miles  the 
roads,  fields,  ravines,  and  hill-sides  were  covered  with 
the  ghastly  dead,  or  the  more  hideous  bodies  of  the 
shattered  and  bleeding  living ;  when  General  Thomas 
alone  held  his  post  in  the  darkness  of  •  his  own  can 
non's  smoke,  —  then,  when  Brigadier-General  Gar- 
field  turned  back  the  tide  of  retreat  by  pleading  with 
the  men  not  to  leave  the  wounded  and  dying  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  and  rallied  enough  to  protect 
the  flank  of  Thomas's  division,  and  save  the  victory, 
and  it  may  be  save  the  great  republic,  the  sublimest 
heights  of  human  greatness  seemed  to  have  been 
reached.  For  that  he  was  made  a  major-general. 

When,  in  the  Chicago  Republican  Convention  of 
1880,  General  Garfield  took  the  side  of  the  derided 
and  despised  Virginian  who  dared  declare  himself 
alone  to  be  the  keeper  of  his  own  conscience,  and  who 
enunciated  the  principle  that  right,  and  not  party, 
claimed  his  first  allegiance,  then  again,  under  the 
most  trying  circumstances,  and  yet  in  the  clearest 
light,  his  sympathy  for  the  weak  gave  power  to  his 
words,  and  elevated  him  far  above  the  masses  of  the 
convention.  For  that  he  was  made  President. 

The  following  letter  was  from  John  G.  Whit- 
tier  :  — 


380     THE   LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC   SERVICES 

DANVERS,  MASS.,  Qth  mo.,  24,  1881. 

W.  H.  B.  CURRIER,  —  My  dear  Friend :  I  regret 
that  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  join  the  citizens  of 
Amesbury  and  Salisbury  in  the  memorial  services  on 
the  occasion  of  the  death  of  our  lamented  President. 
But  in  heart  and  sympathy  I  am  with  you.  I  share 
the  great  sorrow  which  overshadows  the  land ;  I 
fully  appreciate  the  irretrievable  loss.  But  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  occasion  is  one  for  thankfulness  as 
well  as  grief.  Through  all  the  stages  of  the  solemn 
tragedy  which  has  just  closed  with  the  death  of  our 
noblest  and  best,  I  have  felt  that  the  Divine  Provi 
dence  was  overruling  the  mighty  affliction  ;  that  the 
patient  sufferer  at  Washington  was  drawing  with 
cords  of  sympathy  all  sections  and  parties  nearer  to 
each  other.  And  now,  when  South  and  North,  Dem 
ocrat  and  Republican,  Radical  and  Conservative,  lift 
their  voices  in  one  unbroken  accord  of  lamentation ; 
when  I  see  how,  in  spite  of  the  greed  of  gain,  the 
lust  of  office,  the  strifes  and  meanness  of  party  poli 
tics,  the  great  heart  of  the  nation  proves  sound  and 
loyal,  I  feel  a  new  hope  for  the  republic,  I  have  a 
firmer  faith  in  its  stability.  It  is  said  that  no  man 
liveth  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself ;  and  the  pure 
and  noble  life  of  Garfield  and  his  slow,  long  martyr 
dom,  so  bravely  borne  in  the  view  of  all,  are,  I  be 
lieve,  bearing  for  us,  as  a  people,  "  the  peaceable  fruits 
of  righteousness."  We  are  stronger,  wiser,  better, 
for  them.  With  him  it  is  well.  His  mission  fulfilled, 
he  goes  to  his  grave  by  the  lake-side  honored  and 
lamented  as  man  never  was  before.  The  whole  world 
mourns  him.  There  is  no  speech  nor  language  where 
the  voice  of  his  praise  is  not  heard.  About  his  grave 
gathers,  with  heads  uncovered,  the  vast  brotherhood 
of  man. 

And  with  us  it  is  well  also.  We  are  nearer  a  united 
people  than  ever  before.  We  are  at  peace  with  all ; 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.      381 

our  future  is  full  of  promise ;  our  industrial  and 
financial  condition  is  hopeful.  God  grant  that,  while 
our  material  interests  prosper,  the  moral  and  spirit 
ual  influence  of  this  occasion  may  be  permanently 
felt ;  that  the  solemn  sacrament  of  sorrow  whereof 
we  have  been  partakers  may  be  blest  to  the  promo 
tion  of  the  righteousness  which  exalts  a  nation. 
Thy  friend,  JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

Alfred  Tennyson  wrote  to  Mr.  Lowell  from  Hasle- 
mere  :  — 

We  learned  yesterday  that  the  President  was  gone. 
We  had  watched  with  much  admiration  his  fortitude, 
and  not  without  hope  the  fluctuations  of  his  health, 
these  many  days.  Now  we  almost  seem  to  have  lost 
a  personal  friend.  He  was  a  good  man  and  a  noble 
one.  Accept  from  me  and  my  wife  and  family  assur 
ance  of  heart-felt  sympathy  for  Mrs.  Garfield,  for 
yourself,  and  for  your  country. 

A  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  was  appointed  by  all 
the  governors  of  the  United  States  at  the  time  Pres 
ident  Garfield  was  removed  to  Long  Branch,  and  a 
Philadelphia  paper  related  an  incident  connected 
with  that  solemn  and  universally  observed  day  :  — 

"  Crete,"  said  the  President  to  his  brave  little  wife 
about  eleven,  Thursday  morning,  as  the  ringing 
strokes  from  the  belfry  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  al 
most  across  from  the  cottage,  reached  his  ears, 
"  what  are  they  ringing  that  bell  for  ?  "  "  That  ?  " 
said  Mrs.  Garfield,  who  had  been  waiting  for  the  sur 
prise.  "  That 's  the  church  where  we  were  when  you 
first  came  down.  They're  all  going  to  pray  for  you 
to  get  well;"  and,  falling  on  her  knees,  she  said, 
"  and  I  'm  going  to  pray,  too,  James,  that  it  may  be 
soon ;  for  I  know  already  that  the  other  prayer  has 


382     THE    LIFE,    SPEECHES,    AND    PUBLIC    SERVICES 

been  heard."  From  where  he  lay  Garfield  could  see 
the  carriages  draw  up,  and  group  after  group  go  in. 
He  could  even  hear  the  subdued  refrain  of  "Jesus, 
lover  of  my  soul,"  as  it  was  borne  by  on  its  heaven 
ward  way.  Thrilled  with  emotion,  a  tear  trickled 
down  the  President's  face.  After  a  while  a  sweet, 
woman's  voice  arose,  singing  from  one  of  Sir  Michael 
Costa's  oratorios.  "  Turn  Thou  unto  me,  and  have 
mercy  upon  me,"  sang  the  voice,  "  for  I  am  desolate  ; 
I  am  desolate  and  afflicted  ;  the  troubles  of  my  heart 
are  enlarged.  Oh,  bring  Thou  me  out'  of  my  dis 
tresses,  out  of  my  distresses,  my  God ! "  The  people 
in  the  church  sat  almost  spell-bound  under  the  voice. 
Mrs.  George  W.  Childs,  who  sang  the  recitative,  was 
affected  deeply,  and  made  it  seem  to  all,  what  it  must 
have  been  to  her,  a  prayer  in  music. 

We  give  below  a  letter  written  by  President  Gar- 
field,  and  addressed  to  Mr.  C.  E.  Fuller,  now  of  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  who  had  been  a  room-mate  of  the  la 
mented  President  while  at  college.  At  the  time 
this  letter  was  written  the  future  President  had  just 
recovered  from  a  dangerous  illness. 

WILLIAMS  COLLEGE,  August  10,  1854. 
MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  been  down  near  to  the 
gates  of  the  "  Silent  City  "  since  last  I  wrote  to  you. 
Perhaps  it  were  better  had  I  entered,  —  God  know- 
eth.  But  the  crisis  is  passed,  and  I  am  slowly  re 
turning  now.  Your  kind,  good  letter  was  received 
to-day,  and  I  will  respond  immediately.  I  think  I 
told  you  in  my  other  that  I  had  taken  cold  nearly 
every  night  since  I  came,  and  had  had  a  severe  head 
ache  for  about  ten  days.  However,  I  kept  on  study 
ing  until  Friday,  the  4th,  when  the  hot  water  streamed 
from  my  eyes  so  that  I  could  not  see,  and  I  was 


OF  GENERAL  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD.       383 

obliged  to  stop  and  send  for  a  physician.  .  .  .  Oh, 
how  much  I  have  felt  the  absence  of  dear  friends 
during  these  long,  dreary  hours  of  pain !  I  must 
subjoin  some  lines  that  have  been  ringing  through 
the  chambers  of  my  soul,  and  though  I  do  not  know 
the  name  of  the  author,  yet  they  possess  the  ele 
ments  of  immortality.  I  know  you  will  love  them 
and  feel  them  :  — 

"  Commend  me  to  the  friend  that  comes 

When  I  am  sad  and  lone, 
And  makes  the  anguish  of  my  heart 

The  suffering  of  his  own  ; 
Who  coldly  shuns  the  glittering  throng 

At  pleasure's  gay  levee, 
And  comes  to  gild  a  sombre  hour 

And  give  his  heart  to  me. 

"  He  hears  me  count  my  sorrows  o'er, 

And  when  the  task  is  done 
He  freely  gives  me  all  I  ask,  — 

A  sigh  for  every  one. 
He  cannot  wear  a  smiling  face 

When  mine  is  touched  with  gloom, 
But  like  the  violet  seeks  to  cheer 
•The  midnight  with  perfume. 

"  Commend  me  to  that  generous  heart 

Which  like  the  pine  on  high 
Uplifts  the  same  unvarying  brow 

To  every  change  of  sky  ; 
Whose  friendship  does  not  fade  away 

When  wintry  tempests  blow, 
But  like  the  winter's  icy  crown 

Looks  greener  through  the  snow. 

"  He  flies  not  with  the  flitting  stork, 

That  seeks  a  Southern  sky, 
Bitt  lingers  where  the  wounded  bird 

Hath  laid  him  down  to  die. 
Oh,  such  a  friend  !     He  is  in  truth, 

Whate'er  his  lot  may  be, 
A  rainbow  on  the  storm  of  life, 

An  anchor  on  its  sea." 

Thank  God,  I  enjoy  such  friends  as  that,  though 
they  are  not  with  me.  But  I  must  stop.  ...  I  need 
not  say  I  am,  as  ever,  your  brother, 

JAMES. 


384  THE    LIFE,    ETC.,    OF  J.    A.    GARFIELD. 

Cyrus  W.  Field,  and  other  capitalists  of  New  York, 
soon  after  the  President's  assassination,  started  a 
subscription  for  his  family,  which  was  increased  after 
the  President's  death  to  nearly  $350,000.  Cyrus  W. 
Field  will  also  place  a  memorial  window  to  the  late 
President  in  the  chapel  of  Williams  College,  of  which 
General  Garfield  was  a  graduate. 

The  greatest  poets  of  the  world  vied  with  each 
other  in  tributes  of  poetic  measure,  a  collection  of 
which  would  fill  a  volume,  and,  in  despair  of  making 
anything  approaching  a  comprehensive  collection  of 
the  world's  intellectual  tributes  to  this  loved  martyr, 
we  lay  down  our  pen,  quoting  the  last  verse  of  the 
sweet  poem  by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  :  — 

"  Farewell !  the  leaf-strown  earth  enfolds 

Our  stay,  our  pride,  our  hopes,  our  fears, 
And  autumn's  golden  sun  beholds 
A  nation  bowed,  a  world  in  tears." 


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E68? 

Gormen,  R.H.          C?7 
Life,  speeches  and    1881 
public  services  of 
James  A.  Gar field. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


